The Builder Magazine
February 1916 - Volume VI - Number 2
THE EFFECT OF “HOME RULE” ON FREEMASONRY IN IRELAND
BY BRO. W. COPELAND TRIMBLE, IRELAND
SOME of our American brethren may desire to know the result which would likely grow from the granting to Ireland of what is understood as “Home Rule.” If the whole of the Irish people were loyal to the United kingdom and not under the domination of clericalism, things might be very different from what they are; but we have to do with facts as we find them.
Up to the time of the Unification of States under Garibaldi, Roman Catholics were to be found freely in Masonic lodge rooms. Daniel O'Connell and many of the Irish priesthood were members of our order. But the Pope considered that Masonic lodges had been used in Italy for the furtherance of the propaganda which wrested from him the Papal States and created a new and unified Italy, and hence the decree that forbade Roman Catholics to join the Order. This decree was frequently referred to in Lenten pastorals by Irish Roman Catholic Bishops, and as a Roman Catholic ceased to be a Catholic, according to clerical teaching, by the mere fact of going to lodge many of the Roman Catholic members of the Order ceased attendance, but others continued until old age came upon them.
How would Home Rule affect Freemasonry in Ireland?
First, What would Home Rule mean? It is generally understood to imply an Ireland separate in government from England and Scotland, being governed either by a parliament recognizing the King as sovereign, yet independent of control at Westminster, or a separate Republic for Ireland having no connection with Great Britain whatever. Be it remembered that at present Irish District and County Councils have control of the whole country in ordinary domestic legislation, and that in Parliament Ireland has, owing to the excess of her members over the population, double the power of England and Scotland.
Second. With then, a separate Parliament as the sovereign power in Ireland, we would have a governing body under the dominion of the Roman Catholic priesthood whose exercise and claims of authority in morals (which, freely interpreted, means everything), and who elect, or cause to be elected the various members of Parliament throughout Ireland. Full deference is paid by these members to the Bishops and clergy, not only in their episcopal or clerical capacity, but as the controllers of the local politics.
Third. With then, a Parliament to frame and to execute the laws, it follows that the Hierarchy would cause legislation to be passed embodying their views and Freemasonry would be prohibited beyond doubt.
We are not left in any doubt in the matter. Before Ireland was handed over in 1898 to the new regime of County and District Councils, several lodges that had been accustomed to holding their meetings in public courthouses foresaw what would take place and made preparations for a change. In Sligo the brethren built; a Masonic Hall; in other places something similar was done; in Enniskillen a lease was obtained for a long number of years from the Board which had, for a rental, allowed Masonic lodges to assemble in one of the rooms in the Town Hall - to guard against a notice to quit from a succeeding Board elected under new conditions.
Brethren in other places awaited word, hoping that they would be allowed to meet in the public buidings as before. But in vain. The local lodge received notice to quit and had to make other provision for assemblies. And if a new Parliament were to be placed in authority there is no manner of doubt in the Craft that all Masonic meetings would be prohibitedCnot so much due to the Roman Catholic laymen themselves, but to the influence which impels them to obey their clergy in matters outside the clerical province, and to them Freemasonry is anathema maranatha.
The ideas of liberty in thought and speech in Treland also varies with ideas held on such subjects elsewhere. The prevailing opinion among the Irish peasantry is that a man has no right to hold views differing from “the voice of the country” - that is, that the minority should always yield to the majority. In practice this view does not always hold good. There are some men of independent mold. But woe to the man who differs from his pliest, the final arbiter of all such matters !
Freemasonry has a strong hold among Unionist, or Protestant, circles in Ireland, and it is proud of its Masonic charities and the quality of its membership. Nor is this a matter of recent date. The writer possesses the certificate of his grandfather in the Craft and Royal Arch degrees, dating from 1797, and other ancient certificates are preserved in the Masonic Hall, Dublin, showing that Freemasonry is no new thing in this island. But how long it would escape persecution were Ireland to be dominated by a separate parliament under some form of Home Rule, is another matter, and I believe I am expressing the unanimous opinion of the Fraternity in Ireland when I say that under Home Rule the path of the Order would not be an easy one.
Even the British government yields to the Roman Catholic clamor against Freemasonry. A policeman formerly, on being attested when joining the force, was prohibited from holding membership in any fraternal organization, the Masonic Order alone excepted. But this exception has been overruled within the past few years and at the present time no policeman, whatever his rank or station, may become affiliated or hold affiliation with the Masonic Fraternity.
The instinct of Freemasonry in Ireland is correct as to the future unless some guarantees of security were placed in all Act of Parliament which would set up any new legislature in Ireland. And even then we would doubt security.
From THE FREEMASON of London, England, we reprint the following concerning the debate in the House of Commons which appeared in the issue of that Journal for November 25th, 1916:
PARLIAMENT AND FREEMASONRY
IMPORTANT ACTION AND FEEBLE PROTEST
Close attention is demanded by all interested in the welfare of the Craft to the recent debates in the House of Commons dealing especially with the relations in one particular of Freemasonry with the outer world. We have thought it well to deal with the subject in detail, because we feel that the Craft generally, and not only in Ireland, may be affected by the temper displayed towards Freemasonry in the House of Commons, and most inadequately protested against by members of our own body, of whom there are a number, and some of much Masonic distinction. It may be urged that they did not expect the question to be raised in this fashion; but, the hare having been started in full cry on Tuesday, it was hunted to the kill on the following Thursday, with only one Masonic voice raised in protest, and that by an Ulster member, who specially noted that he had none of his friends there to support him, or even to advise him in the matter.
THE DEBATE IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS
As a preliminary, it may be recalled that, in the short-lived strike among the Dublin Metropolitan Police in October, trouble began over the fact that more than 100 constables defied an order of the Chief Commissioner by attending a meeting of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and enrolling themselves in the society. The Chief Commissioner issued a notice warning the men that, if they attended the meeting of this secret political society, they would be liable to “serious consequences,” for, under the terms of their enlistment, the men were prohibited from joining any political or secret society except the Freemasons. The advocates of the disaffected men urged that the Hibernian Order was not as secret a society as the Freemasons, and not more sectarian, owing to the abstention of Roman Catholics generally from membership of the Craft; and, though there were grievances about rates of pay, this as to Masonry was made much of.
It was not, indeed, a new question, for over ten years ago when Mr. Walter Long was Chief Secretary, Mr. J. MacVeagh, a Nationalist member, called attention in the House of Commons to the encouragement given in the oath of the police to become Freemasons, and asked the then Unionist Government to withdraw the preferential treatment given to that Order. Mr. Long denied that any encouragement was given to the police to become Freemasons, and would not admit that any irregularity was committed in making the exception complained of. In more than one quarter of Nationalist opinion in the lobby, however, when the question was now brought forward, the anticipation was indulged in that the exception made in favour of Freemasonry would be dropped.
This anticipation proved correct, for when, on 7th November, a motion was made in the House of Commons by Mr. Duke, K.C., the present Chief Secretary, to read a second time the Constabulary and Police (Ireland) Bill, introduced to remove the Constabulary's grievances.
Major Newman, an English Unionist member, submitted, as an amendment, a declaration that “in view of the lack of discipline recently shown by a section of the Dublin Metropolitan Police it is inopportune to immediately proceed with the further consideration of the Bill.” In so doing, he incidentally said: “I understand that some 400 of the junior members of the Dublin force have joined the Ancient Order of Hibernians. A member of the Royal Irish Constabulary, on entering the force, has to take an oath, and he swears that he will not belong to any secret society in Ireland or any part of the world, with the exception of the Order of Freemasons. [Hon. Members: 'Hear, hear!'] I am very glad to hear those cheers, which show that the Order of Freemasons is so popular in Ireland. I am a Mason myself, and I daresay other members of the House are members of that Order. At any rate, it is a fact that the policeman takes an oath not to become a member of any secret society except the Freemasons. The Ancient Order of Hibernians is not a secret society, but it is semi-secret; its constitution, aims, methods, and so on are pretty well known. If it be only semi-secret, it is wholly sectarian; it is confined absolutely to the Roman Catholic faith. No one who is an Orangeman can become a member of that Order, and to that extent it is a sectarian society, and a semi-secret one.... I daresay some members below the gangway will argue about the Order of the Freemasons. At any rate, the Freemasons take no part in politics. [Hon Members: 'Oh, oh!']”
Mr. Dillon intersected the remark: “They ruled Ireland for fifty years.”
Major Newman continued: “They have done so, but the Freemasons are now a great cosmopolitan body, dealing only with matters of Charity, and with nothing more. I am a Mason, and I know that in a Lodge of Freemasons no word of politics is ever introduced, and hon. members are very much mistaken if they think that Freemasons allow politics in their lodges. I do not think I incur any penalty by saying that, or stating that the Lodges of the Order of Freemasons deal only with matters of Charity.”
Mr. Duke, the Chief Secretary, in replying, observed: “With regard to the matter of membership of societies, I regard it as a very unfortunate thing that the oath against membership of societies has any qualification; and, if hon. members desire to alter that state of things, then, so far as I am concerned, they will find that my view is that there must be equal treatment for everybody in these matters of police discipline. The objection to membership of organizations on the part of those who are responsible for the conduct of the police is to membership of any organization which may cut across the primary duty of the police. Taking that view of the matter, I have had it under consideration whether, without any regard to the oath under the Act of William IV., or to any of these matters, the proper mode of dealing with this question of membership of outside organisations is not to say to everybody who is in the police, as well as to everybody who comes to join the police, 'You must not join any outside organisation without the consent of your chief commanding officer, because it is contrary to discipline.' That, to my mind, is the sound mode of dealing with a matter of this kind.”
This, however, did not satisfy the Nationalists, Mr. Devlin saying: “If you lay down as a universal principle of equality that men who are in a police force of this character are not to join societies, then complete and absolute liberty should be conceded to them. I am not going to make any attack upon the Freemasons. I know nothing whatever about them. I have no doubt that they are all that members of that organization in England have described them to be. But I cannot blind myself to the fact that Freemasonry in Ireland is a large political organization - is a most powerful and scientific political machine. Every one of us knows that it eats into and corrodes the whole social and political life of Ireland. Everybody knows it. Perhaps the right hon. and learned gentleman is ignorant of it. I could give him a list of appointments made to Government offices in Ireland. In every branch of the public service where Freemasons decide - at all events, if they do not decide, look at the statistics and consider! - I think it will be found that every position above the position of crossing‑sweeper, although the Irish people are overwhelmingly Catholic in the three provinces of Ireland - ninety per cent. are Catholics, but the great bulk of these positions are held by those who are hostile to our faith and our aspirations.”
The Bill was then read a second time without a division, and two days later it was considered in committee of the whole House, when the Masonic point came again - and this time very practically - to the front.
Major Newman now observed: “Let us allow these constables to belong to no secret society whatsoever. Do not let us have the Hibernians, Orangemen, or Freemasons - at any rate, so long as both these forces are under the control of Parliament. What may happen after they are transferred to the Dublin Parliament does not concern us now. Up till then, for the safety of Ireland, for fair play, and on behalf of the peace of that country, let us lay down once and for all the rule that, so long as we here have control of these forces, so long as they have to look to us for their emoluments and so on, we will not allow any member of those forces, be he county inspector, divisional inspector, subordinate officer, head constable, or what not, to be a member of any secret society - Freemasons, Ancient Order of Hibernians, or Orangemen. If the Chief Secretary will not give us assurances on this point, I should certainly like to test the feelings of the House in the matter.”
Mr. Dillon replied for the Nationalists, remarking: “The other day, when some of us pointed out that both the Constabulary and the Dublin Metropolitan Police, by an extraordinary oath, are prohibited from belonging to any secret society or any political association, excepting the Society of Freemasons, several hon. members cried out that the Society of Freemasons is not political. I do not know anything about the Society of Freemasons in this country, or about the details of its proceedings in Ireland; but I do know this, that you may state that fact until you are black in the face, but you will not get any man in Ireland to believe it. I speak as an outsider altogether, quite ignorant of these matters, as being a Roman Catholic, I am obliged to be, but it is a very singular thing that the great Society of Freemasons, against whom I do not desire to make any attack whatever, in certain countries, in certain times, has become a most powerful and dominating political society. Nobody who has studied history will challenge that. It is a matter of public knowledge that the great revolution in Turkey was carried out by the Grand Lodge of Salonika, and that all the Young Turks whose names were famous throughout the world at that time, owed a great deal of their remarkable power - which enabled them to overthrow the Sultan's rule - to the fact that they were leading and high up in the Masonic Order. That is a matter of common knowledge throughout Europe, and it is remarkable that in certain countries and at certain periods the Masonic Society, which in this country may be, for all I know, and I believe it is, a purely charitable, social, and benevolent society, becomes when under the control of certain individuals, and, under the stress of certain peculiar circumstances, locally a most powerful and formidable political association. It was so in Italy, Portugal, and Turkey. That has been the case in Ireland for three or four generations, notoriously, and it is perfectly idle to deny it. Here is the oath which the Constabulary in Ireland and the Dublin Metropolitan Police are compelled to swear, with one slight variation, to which I will draw attention in a moment. This oath - and it is a thing which it is well for the Chief Secretary to take note of - was imposed upon the Constabulary in 1836, at a time when a great deal of the Penal Code against the Catholics had been barely repealed - I mean when the Catholics of Ireland were an oppressed majority of the population, and really were kept out of all authority and all social position in their own country. The oath is:-
‘I, A. B., do swear that I will well and truly serve our Sovereign,'
and so forth, and then it goes on to detail the duties which he undertakes to perform:-
'and that I do not now belong to, and that I will not while I shall hold the said office, join, subscribe or belong to any political society whatsoever, or to any secret society whatsoever, unless to the Society of Freemasons.’
Now that oath, imposed upon the constables of a Catholic nation where the vast majority of the people were suffering under cruel oppression from the law, and where that majority were forbidden by the Church, under pain of mortal sin, to join this association, was an act of high-handed oppression, and was calculated in the eyes of the people to mark out the policemen as partisans of the ascendancy faction who ruled Ireland for many years, and this act destroyed all idea of faith on the part of the Irish in the impartiality of the administration of the law. I say, therefore, that the infliction of that oath, which has gone on to this hour was a cruel and very outrageous insult to the Catholic people of Ireland. Here is the form of oath taken by the Dublin Metropolitan Police:-
'and that I do not now belong to, and that while I shall hold the said office I will not join or belong to, any political society whatsoever, or any secret society whatsoever, unless the Society of Freemasons.'
That form of oath, administered to the Dublin Metropolitan Police, admits in the very words of the oath that the Freemasons are a political society, because it says, 'I will not belong to any political society except the Society of Freemasons.’ “
Major Newman: “Secret society.”
Mr. Dillon: “The wording of the oath conveys the meaning which even the framers of the oath recognised.”
Sir John Lonsdale (Ulster Unionist): “Or any secret society.”
Mr. Dillon: “That is the situation. In a country governed, as Ireland has always been governed, without the slightest regard to the wishes of her own people, on these men was imposed a duty so difficult and delicate that it was almost beyond the resources of men to carry out those duties in a way to command the public confidence, and the Government in those days went out of their way to frame an oath which would destroy, in my opinion, all hope of impartiality on the part of the police.... One of the causes of the trouble in Dublin - and now that the subject has been raised we should speak perfectly frankly - is that the belief has grown up amongst the police - and I believe it to be a sound one - that promotion does not always wait upon merit, but is the reward of certain occult influences, outside influences, and political views, which ought not to enter into the question of the promotion of a police force at all.... What is the Ancient Order of Hibernians? It is not a secret society, it is not an oath-bound society, and it is not a political society. It is a friendly society registered under the Insurance Act. It is an open legal friendly Society which is open to Catholics. I admit it is a sectarian society, but in Ireland the Freemasons are a sectarian society closed to Catholics, and all that the police have done - I admit it is very delicate ground, but they have been smarting under grievances which have existed a long time - all that it is alleged they have done - I do not know whether it is a fact - is that five hundred of them have joined the Ancient Order of Hibernians. I ask on what grounds of justice can the hon. member take up the position that they are not as much entitled to join the Ancient Order of Hibernians as the officers are entitled to join the Freemasons? That is an impossible position. If the hon. member wants my opinion, I will give it to him. I would not allow, if I were administering the affairs of Ireland, a policeman to join any society. I would carry it further, and I would not allow any man engaged in the administration of the law to join any society. But we know perfectly well that up to quite recently every man engaged in the administration of the law in Ireland was a Freemason. I say that the law, whether it be administered by policemen, or magistrates, or prosecutors, or the Attorney-General, or judges, they ought to be all above suspicion and stand equally between His Majesty's subjects, no matter what society they belong to. Therefore, I go further than the hon. and gallant member does, as I would require every judge, magistrate, Crown prosecutor, and everyone, whoever he may be, in carrying out the law to take an oath that he would not belong or did not belong to any association. We all remember the Lord's Prayer, and human nature is weak, and if you have before you in the administration of the law a man who is bound to you by the bonds of an association you are tempted to be friendly.”
Mr. Devlin, another Nationalist, took the same line, exclaiming: “Let all policemen in Ireland stand upon the basis of a common equality. Let them either join the Hibernians or any other society they like, and let them join the Freemasons or any other society they like. If those men are not to have any connection or affiliation, direct or indirect, with associations, then I say let that be a common principle equally applicable to all men in the force.” He then appealed to the Chief Secretary to say whether he intended to accept an amendment standing in the name of a third Nationalist member, Mr. Nugent, proposing to alter the oath the Irish police had to take.
Mr. Duke replied: “I said when the Bill was before us on Second Reading that I saw no answer to the objection there was to retaining this exception in favour of the Order of Freemasons in the oath, and that I proposed to take the necessary steps in accordance with that view. It is difficult to say what I will do on a particular amendment, because it is not quite so simple as to enable me to say Yes or No with regard to the particular amendment, but, of course, I propose to make the change.”
Mr. Devlin rejoined: “A great deal of the time of the House, and the time, perhaps, that ought to be occupied with other matters contained in this Bill, has already been taken up in the discussion of this question; and I wanted, as far as possible, to avoid the repetition of this discussion, therefore I am very glad to find that the right hon. gentleman, in pursuance of the promise which he gave when the Bill was before the Hoase on the Second Read ng, proposes to accept the amendment which stands in the name of my hon. friend.”
Mr. Nugent, in moving his amendment, observed: “I have listened to the suggestion made not by one speaker, but by all, that this antiquated rule which prohibits men from joining any secret society other than the Freemasons should be wiped out of existence. I am glad that that is now recognised. I agree that men should not belong to any secret society - Catholic, Proestant, or anything else - which, as the Chief Secretary said should cross or interfere with the discharge of their public duties. But how is this to apply? . . . It is a terrible objection to a man that he should be a member of an organisation of Catholics, but is no objection when he signs the Ulster Covenant, or joins the Freemasons' organization. The hon. gentleman (Major Newman) admits that the Masonic organisation is a perfectly secret society, from which Catholics are excluded by their religion. In the City of Dublin more than eighty percent. of the people are Catholic, and in the Dublin Metropolitan Police more than eighty per cent. of the men are Catholic. They are informed that they can join the Masonic organization and have its influence to secure promotion, but that if they join a Catholic organization, or the Hibernian Society, it is an entirely different thing. The Ancient Order of Hibernians is not a political society, and is not a secret society. It is a society registered under the Friendly Societies Act, its books are open for inspection to every member of the society, its returns are made to the Registrar of Friendly Societies, it is approved under the Insurance Act as one of those societies which are to administer it. I can say here, without fear of contradiction, that there is no society in Great Britain that has been able to conduct its business better.
. . . It would be far better in the interests of good government in the interests of the City and Metropolitan police, and in the interests of the peace of the city, to be generous in this critical period whenever you are introducing a Bill which to some extent will remove some of the grievances under which the men suffer.”
The amendment, however, was negatived without challenge, it being understood that the Chief Secretary was prepared to meet the point in another way. This other way was by means of a new clause, moved by Mr. Dillon expressly to remove a portion of the old oath, in the following terms: “The Statutes mentioned in the Third Schedule to this Act shall be repealed to the extent mentioned, and in the said Schedule.”
An Ulster Unionist member (Col. Craig) at this point observed: “I have not really had time to consider the question, but, as far as I understand it, a great many men have joined the Freemasons' Society, and I would like to ascertain whether the effect of this amendment might not press rather hardly on those who have joined a society which, so far as I understand, he could not leave once having joined it.”
Mr. Duke replied: “It is quite true that there are men in the constabulary now who have joined the Order of Freemasons, but I do not at all gather that there is any desire to penalize them, and I understand that the intention is to have a fresh form of oath which has not on the face of it that obvious inequality and that provocative exception with which the amendment deals. I gather from the hon. member for East PIayo (Mr. Dillon) that I correctly interpret his desire in this respect, and the desire of those who act with him. There is an additional reason for it which I might perhaps mention. When a man has attained commission rank he has to renew his oath with regard to the position, and obviously it would be unjust that a man who has entered the force upon certain conditions should be deprived of the just expectation of promotion because in a different time and in a different temper there was used what now seems an obsolete expression. I shall propose to insert a qualification, when we come to the schedule, by means of words which provide 'that the repeal, so far as it affects persons who join the respective forces after the commencement of this Act.' I must say I am glad to accept the proposal which the hon. member has made.”
Mr. Dillon rejoined: “I accept the qualification which the right hon. gentleman has stated, and I only desire to add this one word. The attitude of the right hon. gentleman has been most conciliatory and most fair, and I am very glad to be able to make such a concession, if concession it be.”
The question was then put and agreed to, and the proposed new clause was added to the Bill; but a further discussion took place when, later in the proceedings, the new schedule was brought before the House in the following terms:-
THIRD SCHEDULE
ACTS REPEALED
Session and Chapter
SHORT TITLE
EXTENT OF REPEAL
6 & 7
Will. 4,
c. 13.
Constabulary
(Ireland)
Act, 1836
Section 17 from “whatsoever,” where it last appears to “Freemasons.”
6 & 7
Will. 4,
c. 29.
The Dublin Police Act, 1836
Section 44, from “whatsoever,” where it last appears to “Freemasons.”
The schedule having been read a first time, Mr. Muldoon, a Nationalist member, moved that it be read a second time, suggesting that a provision preserving the interests of those who have already joined the society might, perhaps, more conveniently be inserted after the new Clause 4.
Mr. Duke replied: “I think the object desired by the hon. member could be attained by inserting, at the end of the first paragraph in the third column, the words, 'so far as respects persons who join the Royal Irish Constabulary after the commencement of this Act'; and at the end of the second paragraph in the third column, the words, 'so far as respects persons who join the Dublin Metropolitan Police after the commencement of this Act.' I think that will meet the hon. member's view. But if he thinks it would be more artistic to do it in a different manner on report, I daresay we shall not quarrel over that.”
The schedule having been read a second time,
Mr. Duke said: “I beg to move, at the end of the first paragraph in the third column, to insert the words, 'so far as respects persons who join the Royal Irish Constabulary after the commencement of this Act.”'
Mr. Hazleton (Nationalist): “After the passing of this Act.”
Mr. Duke: “It is the same thing. 'Commencement' is the technical expression for its coming into operation.”
Col. Craig then observed: “I want to enter a protest against this proposal, in order that it may be recorded that I did so. I do not intend to press my objection further than to say, as a member of the Masonic Order, that I do not think it is necessary that this step should be taken. I see the point of view of hon. members below the gangway - that, if there is to be a restriction, so far as joining any of these societies is concerned, there should be no exception whatever. Hitherto the Masonic Order has taken a place entirely by itself. It takes no political part whatever in the life of Ireland, nor, as far as I know, in the life of England. At the same time, I am fully alive to the fact that as it is a secret society, hon. members say that if there is to be a rule that men of the Royal Irish Constabulary are not to be permitted to join any secret society, the rule must apply here also, and with this protest I am prepared to waive my objection. I hope, however, that members of the Order, whether inside or outside the House, will not regard it as any slur upon the society. We are in the midst of a great war, and we all have to sacrifice something. I have none of my friends here to support me, or even to advise me, in this matter. Therefore I simply enter my protest, and, faced with the fact that we want to show a united front wherever we can, and in the interests of the discipline of the force, I withdraw my opposition.”
The amendment was then agreed to, and a further amendment made, at the end of the second paragraph, in the third column, to insert the words, “so far as respects persons who join the Metropolitan Police after the commencement of this Act.” The schedule, as amended, was then added to the Bill, it being worded thus:-
THIRD SCHEDULE
ACTS REPEALED
Session and Chapter
SHORT TITLE
EXTENT OF REPEAL
6 & 7
Will. 4,
c. 13.
Constabulary
(Ireland)
Act, 1836
Section 17 from “whatsoever,” where it last appears to “Freemasons,” so far as respects persons, who join the Royal Irish Constabulary after the commencement of this Act
6 & 7
Will. 4,
c. 29.
The Dublin Police Act, 1836
Section 44, from “whatsoever,” where it last appears to “Freemasons,” so far as respects persons, who join the Dublin Metropolitan Police after the commencement of this Act
The Bill was immediately reported to the House, at which stage, despite the Chief Secretary's suggestion that it might be possible then to deal with the matter “in a more artistic way,” not a further word was said concerning it; and the measure was ordered in a very few minutes for third reading, which was given to it without further ado on Wednesday of this week.
THE ENCYCLICAL LETTER HUMANUM GENUS” OF THE POPE LEO XlIl
(CONCLUDED FROM JANUARY ISSUE)
THE LETTER then proceeds to state the materialistic “principles of statesmanship.” It says: “They maintain that all things are vested in a free people; that power is held by the order or permission of that people, so that, if the popular pleasure change, Princes may be degraded from their rank even against their will. They assert that the source of all laws and civil duties is either in the multitude, or in the power that rules the State, and this when formed by the newest teaching.” And the Letter avers, “that these very sentiments are equally pleasing to the FreeMasons; and that they wish to arrange States after this likeness and pattern, is too well known to need demonstration. For long indeed they have been openly working for this object with all their strength and resources.”
These are the political principles of all English-speaking Masons; not because they are Free-Masons, not because these principles are taught in their lodges for they teach nothing there in regard to politics or systems of government; but because they are Englishmen, Scotsmen, Irishmen, or citizens of the United States; and their Civil Governments are founded upon these principles. In other countries these are the principles which have always inspired the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, and the French or Modern Rite; and these Rites have therefore always been the advocates and champions, especially in the Latin countries of Europe, of freedom and constitutional government; and in this chiefly consist their glory and their honour. The Roman Catholic Church has been always and everywhere on the side of the arbitrary power Princes and Potentates: Masonry on the side of the people. Thou hast said truly, O Pope!
Then the Successor of Saint Peter thus announces to the Faithful the law by which they are to be absolutely governed, - the law of the Divine right of anointed Princes:
“As men are born by the will of God for civil union and association, and as the power of ruling is so necessary a bond of civil society, that on its removal that society must suddenly be severed, it follows that He who gave birth to society gives birth also to the rule of authority. Whence it is understood that he in whom power is, WHOEVER HE IS, is God's Minister. Wherefore, so far as the end and nature of human society require, it is as right to obey lawful authority, when it issues just orders as it is to obey the power of God who rules all things: and this is pre-eminently inconsistent with truth, that it should depend upon the will of the people to cast off obedience at its pleasure.”
Is every one, then, who finds himself actually possessing power, thereby God's Minister? Was Cromwell God's Minister? Was William of Orange God's Minister? Was Napoleon the Great? Were William and Mary God's Ministers? Are the King and Parliament of Italy God's Ministers? Are the Emperors of Germany and Brazil God's Ministers? Oh no! The Pope means those in whom power is, they having lawful authority, i. e., those whose rule and power are sanctioned by the Church. How, according to his doctrine, if it be “pre-eminently inconsistent with truth” that the people may rid a country of a ferocious and brutal tyrant, by compelling his abdication - of a Ferdinand VII., or Philip II., (whose will and that of the Church of Rome Alva executed in the Netherlands, leaving written there all over the land the never-to-be-effaced records of the blood-guiltiness of the Church and King), - of a Bomba, of a Nero, of a Caligula, of a Borgia, - how is any bloody and brutal miscreant, wearing the purple, to be dethroned? Must the people endure until God shall remove the butchering malefactor by death, that perhaps Commodus may succeed Tiberius, or a worse and meaner tyrant follow Bomba?
There must be some power on earth to set free a suffering people. It must not “depend upon the will of the people to cast off obedience at its pleasure, - all Catholics are ordered to believe.” When, then? When the Church may authorize it; when the Pope may declare the Throne forfeited for crime, and excommunicate the Ruler, as Heretic or Free-Mason? Is it not this that is meant?
Thus the Pope pronounces by his prerogative of infallibility, and as Vicegerent of God, whom it is as unlawful to refuse to obey as it is to refuse “to obey the power of God who rules all things,” that the dethronement of James II., Catholic King of England, was an act of disobedience of the power of God.
“On the contempt for the authority of Princes, on the allowing and approving of lust for sedition, on the granting of full license to the passions of the people, bridled only by the fear of punishment, there must of necessity arise a change and overthrow of all things.”
The Free-Masons, he passionately cries, “have begun to have great weight in ruling States, but they are ready to shake the foundations of Empires, and to censure, accuse and drive out the chief men of a State, whenever its administration seems different from their wishes. Just so have they deluded the people by their flattery. By calling in sounding terms for liberty and public prosperity, and saying that it is owing to the Church and Princes that the people are not delivered from unjust slavery and want, they have imposed upon the populace, and have instigated it by a thirst for revolution to attack the power of both.”
Where? Garibaldi, in Italy, was a Free-Mason, and there are perhaps a hundred and fifty Masonic lodges in Italy; and yet a King rules peacefully there, upheld by the Free-Masons, his Minister, Depretis, being a Mason. In Brazil the Emperor is a Free-Mason of the 33d Degree, and there have been no insurrections or disturbances of the public peace there, though the Free-Masons assemble in some two hundred Lodges and higher Bodies. In Portugal there are a Grand Orient and Supreme Council and sixty or seventy Lodges, and the Marshal Duke Saldanha, why by peaceful revolution gave that Kingdom a constitutional government, was Ex-Grand Master of Masons; and yet a King reigns peacefully in Portugal. In Spain there are two hundred Lodges, and Sagasta is a Free-Mason, and Alfonso reigns secure, his throne upheld by FreeMasonry.
Attacks upon the Church and Princes, the Pope exclaims, instigated by Free-Masons, have given the people greater expectation than reality of advantage. “Nay, rather, the common people, suffering worse oppression, are for the most part forced to be without those very alleviations of their miseries, which they would find with ease and abundance, if matters were arranged according to Christian ordinances. But as many as strive against the order arranged by divine Providence, usually pay this penalty for their pride, that they meet with a wretched and miserable fortune in the quarter whence they rashly expected prosperity and success.”
The Spanish Colonies in the New World threw off by revolt the intolerable yoke of oppression of the Spanish Crown, and made themselves free Republics. They were not content with “matters arranged according to Christian Ordinances” by the Catholic Church, for the benefit of a rapacious and cruel government, with those “Ordinances” administered by Inquisitors. Are the people of Mexico loosers thereby? Are those of Chile, or Venezuela? The Netherlands, bled nearly unto death, at last, by heroic endurance and matchless courage, rescued their country from the Satanic rule of Alva. France put an end to such Saturnalia of Hell there as that of the Eve of St. Bartholomew, and in carrying away the Pope to Avignon paid Rome in full for the blood with which the grey hairs of old Coligni dabbled the stones of Paris. God, by the instrumentality of Luther, avenged the murdered Albigenses and Lollards, Huss and Wiclif, Jerome of Prague and Savonarola; seriously disarranging “matters arranged according to Christian Ordinances.” Has all this been to the manifest disadvantage of the people of the liberated countries of the world ? Have the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Italy, lost by it? Is France miserable and suffering? Is Germany wretched? Does Great Britain languish for want of the tender mercies of the Papacy?
That great Statesman, Edmund Burke, said that he did not know how to draw an indictment against a whole people; but we have thus shown, by the very words, faithfully translated, of the Roman Pontiff himself, that this Encyclical Letter, which purports to be only an arraignment and condemnation of Free-Masonry, is in its principal intent and deepest significance an indictment, not only of the people of every Republic and Constitutional Monarchy in the world; but of every Protestant country in the world; and not only of the people of every Protestant country in the world, but of all that portion of the people of every Catholic country who have in these later centuries asserted the right of the people to have a voice in the affairs of government, and to be secure in their persons and lives against the infernal methods of procedure, the creation of imaginary crimes, and the cruel torturings upon mere suspicion, of such tribunals as the Inquisition. It is a sentence purporting to be uttered by the voice of God, outlawing and excluding from Heaven all the patriots and lovers of liberty and liberators of the people, all the array of martyrs who have died in endeavoring to vindicate the right of Humanity to freedom of thought and conscience.
It denounces as wicked and criminal, and contrary to the ordinances of the Christian religion, not only the laws which permit the solemnization of marriage by the civil magistrate, and those which exclude sectarian religious teaching from schools and seminaries maintained by public taxation; not only the constitutional provisions which in all the States of these United States decree the separation of Church and State, and refuse to the Church any part in the civil government of the country; not only those by which the pretensions of the Churches and their right to dictate opinions may be freely discussed by the public press; but also the great principle on which the governments of all Republics are founded, of the sovereignty of the people, the only legitimate source and author of civil power and government. It asserts the divine right of Princes, if held by the Church of Rome to have lawful authority, to govern men against their will; that they are the Ministers of God; and that the people have no power to free themselves from the tyranny and oppression of these divinely commissioned scourges and Assassins of Humanity.
It is an indictment of Humanity itself, for its instinctive struggles to lift itself above the miseries and indignities of bodily and intellectual bondage to Priest and Potentate; for the involuntary and irrepressible aspirations of its Soul towards light and knowledge and the free atmosphere of intellectual expansion; and for the not more involuntary quiverings of its tortured, racked, wrenched and mutilated muscles and nerves. It is an indictment of Civilization, of Progress, of the Spirit of Manhood, of the self-respect of the Peoples, of the Progress onward and upward of Humanity, of the Spirit of the Age, which is the very Inspiration of God; and of God Himself and the beneficent Providence of God, Who loves the people in rags, hungry and hopeless, better than He loves the Priests in scarlet and the Tyrants in purple.
In renewing and by his Apostolic authority confirming everything decreed by former Popes against Free-Masonry, ratifying their Bulls as well in general as in particular, Leo XIII. leaves to his faithful subjects no discretionary power to regard any portions of those anathemas as obsolete, or to pay respect and obedience to those laws, Bills of Right, or Constitutions, of the countries in which they live, which may forbid the enforcement of the commands of the Church containing these Bulls.
For he immediately adds: “Having entire confidence in this respect, in the good will of those who are Christians, we beseech them, in the name of their erernal salvation, and we demand of them to make it for themselves a sacred obligation of conscience, never to depart, even by one single line, from the mandates promulgated on this subject by the Apostolic See.”
He then proceeds to direct by what measures and devices the Clergy “are “to cause to disappear the impure contagion of the poison which circulates in the veins of society, and infects it throughout.”
First: by tearing off the mask of Free‑Masonry and showing it as it is.
Second: by special discourses and pastoral letters to instruct the people. “Remind the people,” he says, “that by virtue of the decrees often issued by our predecessors, no Catholic, if he desires to continue worthy of the name, and to have for his salvation the concern which it deserves, can, under any pretext, affiliate with the Sect of Free-Masons.”
Then, by frequent instruction and exhortation to help the masses to acquire a knowledge of religion, expounding, in writing and orally, the elements of the sacred principles which constitute the Christian philosophy; and so to increase the devotion of Clergy and Laity to the Catholic Church, the result whereof will be increased disgust for secret societies, and greater care to avoid them. To which method of inculcating what is believed by the Church to be truth, and opposing the progress of what it believes to be error, a Free-Mason will be the last man in the world to object, if it is not to be supplemented by other too well known methods.
And, to engage with great zeal in increasing and strengthening the Third Order of Saint Francis, in the discipline whereof the Pope claims to have made wise modifications; so that “it may be able to render greater service in helping to overcome the contagion of these detestable Sects.”
Third: to re-engage in establishing corporation of workingmen, to protect, under the tutorship of religion, the interests of labor and the morals of workers; with societies of patrons, to assist and instruct the proletaires, such as is the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul.
Fourth: vigilantly to watch with pastoral solicitude over the young, drawing them away, by renewed efforts, from the schools and teachers where they would be exposed to breathe the poisoned breath of the Sects: parents, teachers and curates, urged by the Bishops, guarding their children and pupils against “these criminal societies,” which are ever endeavoring to ensnare them; those who have it in charge to prepare young persons to receive the sacraments, inducing every one of them to take a firm resolution not to join any society without the knowledge of their parents, or without havng consulted their curate or confessor.
For the rest, to implore the aid of the Lord, with great ardor and reiterated solicitations, proportioned to the necessity of the circumstances, and the intensity of the peril.
“Haughty on account of its former success, the Sect of Free-masons insolently erects its head, and its audacity no longer seems to know any bounds. United to one another by the bond of a criminal federation, and by their secret plans, its adepts lend to each other mutual support, and incite each other to dare and to do evil.”
“To which violent attack an energetic defence must respond. Good men must unite, and form an immense coalition of prayers and efforts. Especially the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, must be besought to become the auxiliary and interpreter of the Church, displaying her power against the Sects which are reviving the rebellious spirit, the incorrigible perfidy, and the cunning, of the Devil. Saint Michael who precipitated the revolted Angels into hell, Saint Joseph, husband of the Virgin, and the great Apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul, must also be enlisted: and thus the imminent danger to the human race may be averted.”
Instructions of the people in religious doctrine; enlargement of the Third Order of Franciscans; organization of associations of working men; gaining control of the education of the young; and incessant prayer, - these are to be the ostensible means of offense and defence. A la bonne heure! if no more were meant. But the Church of Rome has never been in the habit of making known the real means or instruments which it has determined to use for the suppression of heresy or to repress the struggles of Humanity to escape from the intolerable burdens of oppression; and it is not likely to do it now. The ostentatious recital of these peaceful means of antagonism does not agree with the explicit re-enactments of the Bulls of Clement and Benedict. The Church has other measures in view than teaching and prayer; and it is already using them in Belgium and Brazil. It has mysteries the divulgation of which is interdicted; Conclaves and Consistories, Generals of the Order, Assemblies that are secret, as their decisions and the means and agents of execution are. The adepts blindly and without discussion obey the injunctions of their Chiefs, holding themselves always ready, upon the slightest notification or hardly perceptible sign, to execute the orders given them, devoting themselves in advance, in case of disobedience, to the most terrible penalties, and even to death; were the order even to bring about the murder of another William the Silent, or of the Chiefs of a Republic.
With such a Past as that of the Church of Rome is, it would have been wise not to provoke comment upon its real crimes by accusing others of having committed imaginary ones; or exposure of the doctrines of the Jesuits, by libelling those of Free-Masonry.
It is not only just and fair and reasonable, but of absolute necessity, to conclude that any one who speaks to men by authority intends the consequences that may naturally, anywhere, be the effects of his words. It is even of absolute necessity, sometimes, to conclude that ambiguous phrases and significant suggestions and veiled meanings, when used as they are here, are employed to induce the commission of infamies, the explicit incitation whereunto might startle the conscience of Humanity. And this is especially of unavoidable necessity, in the interpretation of the mandates of the Church of Rome against those whom it considers its enemies. For it has never yet repudiated and condemned the maxims of the Spanish Jesuits, or declared the suppression of the Truth or the suggestion of Falsehood, for the benefit of the Church, to be contrary to the spirit of the Gospel, or confessed itself ashamed for having so long employed the infernal enginery of the Inquisition. It is infallible, can never have erred, can never change. It long ago lost all right to expect the world to give it credit for honesty of intention or frankness of expression.
This new Proclamation of Interdict and Excommunication is, it is probable, more especially intended as a political manifesto to the Clergy and Catholics of Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium and Brazil, inciting them to treasonable plottings and combinations against the Constitutional Governments of those countries. It preaches to them a new Crusade, the purpose whereof is to destroy those governments, to depose the Monarchs who permit the existence of Free-Masonry in their dominions and the expression of the voice of the people in public affairs; and to place in those Kingdoms the education of the young in the hands of the soldiery of Loyola, and the power of persecuting Free-Masonry and Heresy and the favouring of liberal government in the Holy Office or Inquisition, armed with all its old inhuman and unchristian powers, against which the sense of justice of the whole world long ago revolted. In Brazil it incites the Arch-Bishop of Rio de Janeiro and the Bishop of Para, and all the Jesuits and Ultramontane Clergy, to renew the war a few years ago waged by them against Free-Masonry, against the Emperor and Parliament, and the Laws of the Empire, acting towards the Emperor as towards one excommunicated, reprobated and accursed.
Thus it menaces the public peace in those countries, inciting revolt and insurrection and assassination, and makes the Lord's Prayer the patent of an Inquisitor, and the Sermon on the Mount a warrant for murder.
Already the General of the Jesuits and the Chief Inquisitor of the Holy Office have promulgated their orders to their troops and officials, commanding them to use their utmost exertions to carry into effect the mandates of the Encyclical Letter. In Spain and Portugal secret Anti-Masonic Associations are already being organized under these orders, and like organizations may be looked for in the United States, with resort to every other means of warfare against the great principles which Free-Masonry represents, that can be prudently and safely employed.
It is also a political manifesto, and more, for our neighboring Republic of Mexico, and those of Central and South America. There are Grand Lodges and Supreme Councils of Masons in most of them; and in all, Masonry is free to exist and work undisturbed, and is powerful and influential. In Mexico, the Ex-President, now President Elect of the Republic, and the Actual President, are 33ds, members of the Supreme Council of Mexico created by us, as the President Comonfort was a 33d, Grand Commander of that Supreme Council, and as the President Juarez was a Mason. It is well known that the population at large of the Republic is uneducated and grossly ignorant, and slavishly subservient to the Priesthood; and that it detests and hates Protestants as heretics, damned by the anathemas of the Church, and unfit to live. The Priesthood in Mexico has always been the uncompromising and wily enemy of every patriotic President, of Republican Government, of Free-Masonry, of the principles on which Constitutional Governments are founded, and of all the men by whose sublime efforts and sacrifices Mexico was made and has been maintained a Republic.
It is also well known that, in consequence of the friendly relations between our two Republics, and the extension of railroads in Mexico, built by the capital of our citizens, there now are in that country a great number of citizens of the United States, many of whom have purchased mines and lands, and are working and cultivating them. The Letter Humanum Genus is so framed and worded as to be calculated, and must therefore be taken to be artfully and deliberately intended, to incite the Priesthood in Mexico to renewed zeal against heresy and heretics, and more persistent and continuous and better organized and more audacious efforts to destroy Free-Masonry there, and overturn Republicanism. If citizens of the United States peaceably engaged there in useful avocations, should be assassinated by mobs, instigated, if not openly led, by the Priests; if Diaz and Gonzales and other Free-Masons should be murdered, and the Church should inaugurate a bloody civil war, Pope Leo XIII. will not be able, by any special pleading, to avoid the responsibility for all the fatal consequences that may ensue.
For men have not forgotten that Ignatious Loyola, founder of the Order of Jesus, promulgated this law.
“Visum est nobis in Domino nullas Constitutiones posse obligationem ad peccatum mortale vel veniale inducere, nisi Superior, (in nomine J.-C. vel in virtute obedientiae,) juberet.”
“It has seemed to us in the Lord that on Constitutions can make it obligatory to commit a mortal or a pardonable sin unless the Superior (in the name of Jesus Christ, or in virtue of obedience,) may so order.”
No doubt the General of the Jesuits holds the same doctrine to-day, and is ready to apply it, if occasion should demand, - that the Superior in the Order has the power to command an inferior to commit a mortal sin. It is a fruitful and convenient doctrine, when the matter in hand is to destroy Constitutional Governments in Catholic countries.
There is still more to be considered by the people of the United States; which, when they come fully to comprehend the puport of this manifesto from the Vatican, they will consider. The Catholics, whom it proposes to organize into Italian Colonies or Camps here, obeying the laws enacted at Rome, regulating their political action by principles hostile to those on which Republican Government is founded, and sedulously inculcating these upon the young entrusted to their charge, are being thoroughly informed of its contents and meanings; for it is already being read in all their Churches. Those, whose principle it damns as detestable and wicked, will come to the knowledge of it more slowly, feeling, even if Free-Masons, little interest in a Papal Bull against Free-Masonry, and little inclined to read so long a paper; and slow to believe that it is an attack upon the civil institutions and system of government under which they live. But they will well understand it by and by, and have something to say in regard to it.
It makes it to be of divine obligation for every faithful Catholic in the United States, to be at heart the mortal and uncompromising enemy of the principles and spirit, the plan and purpose, of the Government under which he lives, and whose equal laws permit him to plot and conspire against it with impunity. It proclaims it to the devout believer as a truth spoken by the mouth of God, that the great axiomatic principles, dear to the lovers of human liberty in every age, dear especially, dear beyond price or expression, to the people of the United States, on which, as upon the immovable adamant of eternal truth, their system of government is builded, are false and criminal and wicked, making the United States to be a part of the Kingdom of Satan.
It makes it his and her duty, therefore, to do all that it may be possible to do to eradicate these principles and destroy all that is builded upon them; to gain control, so far as possible, of the education of youth and convert the young to the Catholic faith; to win or buy for the Catholic Church a power and influence in the government of the country.
Already the Encyclical Letter is acted upon as a political manifesto in Ireland.
Archbishop McCabe, we are told, has written a letter with reference to the approaching election of Lord Mayor for Dublin. He says he is unable to understand how Catholics could in honor and conscience cast their votes for Mr. Winstanley, who is both a Home Ruler and a Free-Mason. “As a Free-Mason he is a member of a society which aims to overthrow religion. To Free-Masonry the revolutions of the last century were traceable. No one can plead non-participation as long as he remains a Mason.”
And Mr. Winstanley has repudiated Free-Masonry to obtain votes; and he has been defeated.
But, - for which thanks be unto the God of Hosts “from Whom all glories are”! - Free-Masonry is mightier than the Church of Rome; for it possesses the invincible might of the Spirit of the Age and of the convictions of civilized Humanity; and it will continue to grow in strength and greatness while that Church, in love with and doting upon its old traditions, and incapable of learning anything, will continue to decay. The palsied hand of the Papacy is too feeble to arrest the march of human progress. It cannot bring back the obsolete doctrine that Kings reign by divine right. In vain it will preach new Crusades against Free-Masonry, or Heresy, or Republicanism. It will continue to sigh in vain for the return of the days of Philip II. and Mary of England, of Loyola and Alva and Torquemada. If it succeeds in instigating the Kings of Spain and Portugal to engage in the work of extirpating Free-Masonry, these will owe it to the speedy loss of their crowns. The world is no longer in a humour to be saddled and bitted like an ass and ridden by Capuchins and Franciscans. Humanity has inhaled the fresh, keen winds of freedom, and has escaped from companionship with the herds that chew the cud and the inmates of stables and kennels, to the highlands of Liberty, Equality and Brotherhood.
The world is not likely to forget that the infallible Pope Urban VIII., Barberini, set his signature to the sentence which condemned to perpetual imprisonment, to adjuration and to silence, Galileo Gililei, who, it is known, avoided being burned at the stake by denying on bended knees the deductions of positive science, which demonstrated the movement of the earth; and on the 2d of July, 1633, the Cardinal of Santo Onofio Barbering in the name of the Pope his uncle, announced to the world the condemnation of Galileo by an Encyclical Letter, from the Latin whereof we translate these words: “For which matter Galileo, accused and confined in the prisons of the Holy Office, has been condemned to adjure the said opinion....”
Nor are Free-Masons likely to forget that when the Bull of Clement XII., which Leo XIII. now revives and re-enacts, was published, Cardinal Firrao explained the nature of the punishments which were required to be inflicted on Masons, and what the kind of service was which the Pope demanded from “the Secular Arm.”
“It is forbidden,” he says . . . “to affiliate one's self with the Societies of Masons . . . under penalty of death and of confiscation of goods, and to die unabsolved and without hope of salvation.” Who will be audacious enough to censure us for replying defiantly to a decree which, by revivor of the Bull of Clement, condemns every Free-Mason in the world to death and confiscation, and damns him in advance to die without hope of salvation?
The world has not forgotten that when Charles IX. of France and the Due de Guise at first disowned responsibility for the massacre of 20,000 Protestants, and others, on the Eve and after the Eve of St. Bartholomew, the Catholic Clergy assumed it. Heaven adopted it, they said: “it was not the massacre of the King and the Duke: “it was the Justice of God.” Then the slaughter recommenced, of neighbor by neighbor, of women, of children, of children unborn, in order to extinguish families, the wombs of mothers cut open, and the children torn from them, for fear they might survive. “The paper would weep, if we should write upon it all that was done.”
Men remember that at Saint-Michel, the Jesuit Auger, sent thither from the College of Paris, announced to Bordeaux that the Archangel Michael had made the great massacre, and deplored the sluggishness of the Governor and Magistrates of Bordeaux. After the 24th of August there were feasts. The Catholic Clergy had theirs, at Paris, on the 28th, and ordered a jubilee, to which the King and Court went, and returned thanks to God. And the King, who proclaimed that he had caused Coligni to be killed, and that he would have poniarded him with his own hand, was flattered to intoxication by the praises and congratulations of Rome. Do men not remember that there were feasts and great gaities at Rome on account of the massacre? that the Pope chaunted the Te Deum Laudamus, and sent to “his son,” Charles IX., (to win for whom the whole credit of the massacre, the Cardinal of Lorraine moved Heaven and Earth), the Rose of Gold? that a medal was coined by Rome to commemorate it; and that a painting of the bloody scene was made, and until lately hung in the Vatican ?
Free-Masonry is strong enough, everywhere, now, to defend itself, and does not dread even the Hierarchy of the Roman Church, with its great revenues, and its Cardinal Princes, claiming to issue the Decrees and Bulletins of God, and to hold the keys with which it locks and unlocks at pleasure the Gates of Paradise. The Powers of Free-Masonry, too, sending their words to one another over the four Continents and the great Islands of the Southern Seas, colonized by Englishmen, speak, but with only the authority of reason, Urbi et Orbi, to men of free souls and high courage and quick intelligence.
It does not need that Free-Masonry should take up arms of any sort against the Church of Rome. Science, the wider knowledge of what God is, learned from His works; the irresistible progress of Civilization, the Spirit of the Nineteenth Century; these are the sufficient avengers of the mutilations and murders of the long ages of the horrid Past. These have already avenged Humanity, and Free-Masonry need not add another word:-
Except these: - that there are two questions to be asked, and answer thereunto demanded of all Roman Catholics in the United States, who are loyal to the Constitution of Government under which they live, patriotic citizens of the United States:
Do not your consciences tell you that what is now demanded of you by Pope Leo XIII., by the General of the Jesuits and Chief Inquisitor is, to engage actively in a conspiracy against that Constitution of Government, and the principles on which it is founded; after the dethronement of which principles that Constitution of Government could not live an hour?
If you cannot see it in that light, do not your consciences and common sense tell you, that to approve and favour and give aid and assistance to an open conspiracy against every other Republic and every Constitutional Monarchy in the world, and the principles on which they are founded, is to play a part that is inconsistent with the principles that you profess to be governed by here, is in opposition to all the sympathies of the country in which you live, and is hostile to the influences of its example among the people of other countries, treacherous to your own country, and unworthy of Amercian citizens?
You will have to answer these questions; for they will not cease to be reiterated until you do; and not by Free-Masonry alone.
Given at the Grand Orient aforesaid, the first day of August, 1884, and of the Supreme Council the, 84th year.
The Grand Commander,
ALBERT PIKE, 33d
AMERICA -- A LEAGUE OF THE NATION
BY BRO. JOSEPH FORT NEWTON, NEW YORK
THE LITTLE month of February holds among its days the greatest birth-dates in the calendar of our Republic: it gave us Washington and Lincoln. It behooves us not only to recall their names, but to renew our homage to their patriotic manhood, their moral intelligence, and their practical sagacity, that so, avoiding alike the obscurantist and the impossibilist, we may realize our true destiny in our own nation and among the peoples of the earth. Living in a time of reaction and irritation, of confusion and misgiving, we need to reach into the grave and touch the bones of our prophets, and thus rekindle both our faith and our vision.
Washington came up from the south; Lincoln came down from the north. They were providential men, each trained for the task appointed him, each bringing to an hour of crisis a great and simple faith, a disinterested devotion to the common good, a practical acumen led and lighted by an authentic moral insight; and the Republic is at once their monument and their memorial. Fidelity to all that is holy in our history, no less than our obligation to those yet unborn, demands that we keep alive the memory and ideals of the men who first organized, and then cemented, a group of states into a League of the Nation, changing division and weakness into unity and power. Three things are supremely needed today, if we are not to lose our way in the fogs of party passion, and betray both ourselves and humanity.
First of all, there must be a profound recognition of the fact, attested by the clearest-visioned men of our race, and confirmed by long tragic experience, that, in the end, only spiritual forces can hold a nation together and make it truly great. The great moral prophets were not the dupes of delusions; they saw straight, and the “long-lived storm of great events” through which we have passed proves that they alone are practical men. Even Bismarok saw that in the last result victories are won by the “imponderables,” by the moral and spiritual influences, and that fact is made doubly plain today. Force is a failure. Diplomacy is a delusion. Regimented ruthlessness provokes reaction. Unless the finer influences are allowed to have free play, inducing a nobler mood and a clearer insight, there is little hope that the prayer of Lincoln for “a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations” will ever be answered.
For that reason, every organized moral influence - like Freemasonry - has laid upon it a new obligation and a new opportunity. By as much as the world fills up with men of moral insight and courage - men who see that Masonry is not a system of moral manicure, but a method of training men in fraternal righteousness - by so much our problems will be solved. The great causes of God and Humanity are not delayed by being blown up, but by the slow, glacier-like mass of morally indifferent men. So, when our wise and gentle Craft labors to make men noble, faithful, and brotherly of heart, building their lives into a brotherly world-order, she is working at the foundations of society, making all good things better, and all sacred things more secure. But to this influence on the individual must be added the momentum that comes of co‑operation which, by its intelligence as well as by its efficiency, makes itself felt in behalf of the national life.
Next to a new sense of the practical efficacy of moral forces, we need, as never before, a clear, commanding conception of what America means. He is a poor patriot, and no Mason at all, who has not asked himself what plan, what purpose, what prophecy the Great Architect is trying to work out in our national history? For true citizenship, no less than true statesmanship, consists in discerning the way the Eternal Will is moving and in getting things out of His way. Surely America exists to build in the new world a Beloved Community - united, just, and free - where men of every race and creed may live and live well, because they live in moral fellowship under a sense of common interest and obligation; and loyalty to that ideal is true patriotism. For the same reason, race, class, party, sect, everything must be subordinated to the service of that ideal, that we may fulfill our national destiny and be of real service to all humanity.
In short, we need a League of the Nation, uniting all races, classes, and conditions of men in a compact body of conviction and purpose, and resolved to bring to the problems of peace somewhat of the solidarity, the spirit of service and sacrifice, won by the war. Unfortunately, we have already lost to a sad extent the new solidarity created by the mighty crusade, but we can never wholly lose the strength and liberation that came of united effort in a great enterprise, which must have flashed before even the dullest mind a dim vision of what America means both to itself and to humanity. Hereafter, any man who lives altogether for himself, or his party, or his sect, proves false to the men who paid "the last full measure of devotion" for a better ordering of the world in liberty, justice, and goodwill. Here, again, Masonry can help, and is the better able to help in the nation as it realizes its own unity and obligation. Surely we have a right to hope much from the fact that the leading minds of the Craft are coming into vital contact with one another, and into a larger sense of informal but conscious comradeship in a common cause.
By the same token, no nation can live unto itself without becoming either a menace or a monstrosity, as the myopic nationalism of Germany before the war proved. Great events, which were the footsteps of God, led America into the fellowship of free peoples in a crusade of righteousness, and we cannot withdraw. Moral obligations, no less than the dictates of humanity, hold us to our comrades, as before a comperil and necessity united us with them in the trenches, on the grey solitudes of the sea, and in the consecration of an inexpressible sacrifice. Whatever the name, whatever the details of agreement, there must be some new way of working together - either by formal bonds or otherwise if we are to save civilization from an all-dissolving anarchy.
For the rest, I believe in America, as I believe in God, and I know that she will not fail herself or humanity, much less shirk her just responsibility for the public law and order of the world. The words of our gracious and wise Emerson speak to us as poignantly today as they did sixty years ago, both as to our duty to be just at home and the friend of freedom and peace abroad:
United States! the ages plead,
Present and part in under-song;
Go put your creed into your deed,
Nor speak with double tongue.
Be just at home; then write your scroll
Of honor o'er the sea,
And make the broad Atlantic roll
A ferry of the free.
For He that worketh high and wise,
Nor pauses in His plan,
Will take the sun out of the skies
Ere freedom out of man.
AMERICAN MASONIC SYSTEMS
BY BRO. JESSE M. WHITED, CALIFORNIA
The systems of Freemasonry practiced in the United States are generally known as the York Rite and the Scottish Rite. Properly speaking, they should be termed the American Rite and the Scottish Rite, for the one commonly called York is peculiar in its organized proceedings only to the United States.
The American Rite embraces the Symbolic, the Capitular, the Cryptic and the Templar degrees.
The Symbolic degrees are conferred in a Lodge and are the Entered Apprentice, the Fellow Craft and the Master Mason. They are called Symbolic because their prominent mode of instruction is by symbols.
The Capitular degrees are conferred in a Royal Arch Chapter and are the Mark Master, the Past Master, the Most Excellent Master and the Royal Arch. The supplemental and honorary degree of High Priesthood is conferred in a Council of High Priests upon those who have been regularly elected to preside over a Chapter of Royal Arch Masons. They are called Capitular because they are conferred in a Chapter, the work "Capitular" meaning "done in a Chapter."
The Cryptic degrees are conferred in a Council. They are the Royal Master, the Select Master and the Super-Excellent Master. They are called Cryptic because the word "crypt" means a secret vault or underground passage.
The Templar degrees are conferred in a Commandery and are the Red Cross, the Temple and the Malta. The name Knight Templar comes from the efforts of the Christian Knights to take the temple at Jerusalem from the Mohammedans.
The Scottish Rite embraces the degrees from the 4th to the 33rd, inclusive. In the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States (which includes all territory south of the Ohio River and west of the Mississippi River) the organization of the different bodies, and the degrees conferred by them, are: Lodge of Pertection, 4d to 14d, inclusive; Chapter Rose Croix, 15d to 18d; Council of Kadosh, 19d to 30d; Consistory, 31d to 32d; Supreme Council, 33d.
In the Northern Jurisdiction (which includes all States north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi River) the degrees conferred are: Lodge of Perfection, 4d to 14d, inclusive; Council Princes of Jerusalem, 15d and 16d; Chapter Rose Croix, 17d and 18d; Consistory, 19d to 32d; Supreme Council, 33d.
LARGEST LODGES
The largest subordinate lodges in various states of the United States are situated in the following cities and states
GRAND JURISDICTION
NAME
NO.
LOCATION
MEMBERS
Michigan
Palestine
357
Detroit
3095
Michigan
Ashlar
91
Detroit
2120
Michigan
Zion
1
Detroit
2065
Michigan
Friendship
417
Detroit
1779
New York
Genesse Falls
507
Rochester
1739
Minnesota
Minneapolis
19
Minneapolis
1737
New York
Yonnondio
163
Rochester
1706
Michigan
Detroit
2
Detroit
1635
Illinios
Garden City
141
Chicago
1652
Indiania
Centre
23
Indianapolis
1651
Ohio
York
563
Columbus
1521
Ohio
Woodward
508
Cleveland
1500
Illinois
Pleiades
478
Chicago
1401
New York
Central City
305
Syracruse
1399
Michigan
Union of S.O.
3
Detroit
1393
Ohio
Humboldt
476
Columbus
1336
Illinois
Union Park
610
Chicago
1305
Pennsylvania
University
610
Philadelphia
1297
Michigan
Lansing
33
Lansing
1271
Missouri
Temple
299
Kansas City
1250
Ohio
Bigelow
243
Cleveland
1248
New York
Syracuse
501
Syracuse
1230
Ohio
Halcyon
498
Cleveland
1213
Pennsylvania
Dallas
508
Pittsburgh
1212
Missouri
Ivanhoe
446
Kansas City
1202
Ohio
Rubicon
237
Toledo
1178
Kentucky
Preston
281
Louisville
1162
Connecticut
Hiram
1
New Haven
1161
Texas
Fort Worth
148
Fort Worth
1150
Illinois
Garfield
686
Chicago
1136
Illinois
Austin
850
Chicago
1128
Michigan
Jackson
17
Jackson
1120
Illinois
Temple
46
Peoria
1117
Ohio
Western Star
21
Youngstown
1114
New York
Binghampton
177
Binghampton
1107
Illinois
Mystic Star
758
Chicago
1102
Kansas
Albert Pike
303
Wichita
1100
Illinois
Normal Park
797
Chicago
1087
Illinois
Lake View
774
Chicago
1085
Connecticut
Hartford
88
Hartford
1083
Ohio
Yeatman
162
Cincinnati
1081
Minnesota
Ark
176
Minneapolis
1081
Ohio
S.L. Collins
396
Toledo
1075
Kansas
Orient
51
Topeka
1074
Ohio
Iris
229
Cleveland
1072
Indiana
Mystic Tie
398
Indianapolis
1070
Pennsylvannia
Oriental
385
Philadelphia
1058
Missouri
Mt. Moriah
40
St. Louis
1058
Michigan
Doric
342
Grand Rapids
1055
Ohio
Mystic
405
Dayton
1055
Ohio
Akron
83
Akron
1055
New York
Washington
240
Buffalo
1054
Iowa
Capital
110
Des Moines
1047
Texas
El Paso
130
El Paso
1047
Kansas
Wyandotte
3
Kansas City
1042
Illinois
Englewood
690
Chicago
1033
From 1919 Directory of Masonic Life Association
FOR THE MONTHLY LODGE MEETING
CORRESPONDENCE CIRCLE BULLETIN NO. 34
Edited by Bro. H. L. Haywood
THE BULLETIN COURSE OF MASONIC STUDY FOR MONTHLY LODGE MEETINGS AND STUDY CLUBS
FOUNDATION OF THE COURSE
THE Course of Study has for its foundation two sources of Masonic information: THE BUILDER and Mackey's Encyclopedia. In another paragraph is explained how the references to former issues of THE BUILDER and to Mackey's Encyclopedia may be worked up as supplemental papers to exactly fit into each installment of the Course with the papers by Brother Haywood.
MAIN OUTLINE:
The Course is divided into five principal divisions which are in turn subdivided, as is shown below:
Division I. Ceremonial Masonry.
A. The Work of the Lodge.
B. The Lodge and the Candidate.
C. First Steps.
D. Second Steps.
E. Third Steps.
Division II. Symbolical Masonry.
A. Clothing.
B. Working Tools.
C. Furniture.
D. Architecture.
E. Geometry.
F. Signs.
G. Words.
H. Grips.
Division III. Philosophical Masonry.
A. Foundations.
B. Virtues.
C. Ethics.
D. Religious Aspect.
E. The Quest.
F. Mysticism.
G. The Secret Doctrine.
Division IV. Legislative Masonry.
A. The Grand Lodge.
1. Ancient Constitutions.
2. Codes of Law.
3. Grand Lodge Practices.
4. Relationship to Constituent Lodges.
5. Official Duties and Prerogatives.
B. The Constituent Lodge.
1. Organization.
2. Qualifications of Candidates.
3. Initiation, Passing and Raising.
4. Visitation.
5. Change of Membership.
Division V. Historical Masonry.
A. The Mysteries--Earliest Masonic Light.
B. Studies of Rites--Masonry in the Making.
C. Contributions to Lodge Characteristics.
D. National Masonry.
E. Parallel Peculiarities in Lodge Study.
F. Feminine Masonry.
G. Masonic Alphabets.
H. Historical Manuscripts of the Craft.
I. Biographical Masonry.
J. Philological Masonry--Study of Significant Words.
THE MONTHLY INSTALLMENTS
Each month we are presenting a paper written by Brother Haywood, who is following the foregoing outline. We are now in "First Steps" of Ceremonial Masonry. There will be twelve monthly papers under this particular subdivision. On page two, preceding each installment, will be given a list of questions to be used by the chairman of the Committee during the study period which will bring out every point touched upon in the paper.
Whenever possible we shall reprint in the Correspondence Circle Bulletin articles from other sources which have a direct bearing upon the particular subject covered by Brother Haywood in his monthly paper. These articles should be used as supplemental papers in addition to those prepared by the members from the monthly list of references. Much valuable material that would otherwise possibly never come to the attention of many of our members will thus be presented.
The monthly installments of the Course appearing in the Correspondence Circle Bulletin should be used one month later than their appearance. If this is done the Committee will have opportunity to arrange their programs several weeks in advance of the meetings and the brethren who are members of the National Masonic Research Society will be better enabled to enter into the discussions after they have read over and studied the installment in THE BUILDER.
REFERENCES FOR SUPPLEMENTAL PAPERS
Immediately preceding each of Brother Haywood's monthly papers in the Correspondence Circle Bulletin will be found a list of references to THE BUILDER and Mackey's Encyclopedia. These references are pertinent to the paper and will either enlarge upon many of the points touched upon or bring out new points for reading and discussion. They should be assigned by the Committee to different brethren who may compile papers of their own from the material thus to be found, or in many instances the articles themselves or extracts therefrom may be read directly from the originals. The latter method may be followed when the members may not feel able to compile original papers, or when the original may be deemed appropriate without any alterations or additions.
HOW TO ORGANIZE FOR AND CONDUCT THE STUDY MEETINGS
The lodge should select a "Research Committee" preferably of three "live" members. The study meetings should be held once a month, either at a special meeting of the lodge called for the purpose, or at a regular meeting at which no business (except the lodge routine) should be transacted--all possible time to be given to the study period.
After the lodge has been opened and all routine business disposed of, the Master should turn the lodge over to the Chairman of the Research Committee. This Committee should be fully prepared in advance on the subject for the evening. All members to whom references for supplemental papers have been assigned should be prepared with their papers and should also have a comprehensive grasp of Brother Haywood's paper.
PROGRAM FOR STUDY MEETINGS
1. Reading of the first section of Brother Haywood's paper and the supplemental papers thereto.
(Suggestion: While these papers are being read the members of the lodge should make notes of any points they may wish to discuss or inquire into when the discussion is opened. Tabs or slips of paper similar to those used in elections should be distributed among the members for this purpose at the opening of the study period.)
2. Discussion of the above.
3. The subsequent sections of Brother Haywood's paper and the supplemental papers should then be taken up, one at a time, and disposed of in the same manner. 4. Question Box.
MAKE THE "QUESTION BOX" THE FEATURE OF YOUR MEETINGS
Invite questions from any and all brethren present. Let them understand that these meetings are for their particular benefit and get them into the habit of asking all the questions they may think of. Every one of the papers read will suggest questions as to facts and meanings which may not perhaps be actually covered at all in the paper. If at the time these questions are propounded no one can answer them, SEND THEM IN TO US. All the reference material we have will be gone through in an endeavor to supply a satisfactory answer. In fact we are prepared to make special research when called upon, and will usually be able to give answers within a day or two. Please remember, too, that the great Library of the Grand Lodge of Iowa is only a few miles away, and, by order of the Trustees of the Grand Lodge, the Grand Secretary places it at our disposal on any query raised by any member of the Society.
FURTHER INFORMATION
The foregoing information should enable local Committees to conduct their lodge study meetings with success. However, we shall welcome all inquiries and communications from interested brethren concerning any phase of the plan that is not entirely clear to them, and the Services of our Study Club Department are at the command of our members, lodge and study club committees at all times.
QUESTIONS ON "THE LETTER G"
Before reading the article on the letter G by Brother Haywood in this issue of THE BUILDER what was your conception of its symbolic meaning? Did you accept the ritualistic explanation as authentic and final? Or had you at any time subsequent to receiving your Second degree investigated the subject from other sources? If so, what conclusions did you reach? Did the Masons of the eighteenth century know why the letter G was adopted as a Masonic symbol? Are Masonic students of the present day agreed upon the subject? What is said about it in the article in Mackey's Encyclopedia?
Name several interpretations of the symbol as quoted by Brother Haywood. What are two of the most common theories?
What branch of the sciences was given the greatest prominence, in the old Constitutions of Masonry? What is a reasonable explanation for this?
How are the confused explanations of the symbol by eighteenth century writers accounted for?
How did the letter G ever come to stand for Deity? What was the Kabbala? Around what did the symbolic system Kabbala centre? What restrictions were placed upon the real name of God by the ancient Jewish people? What was result of these restrictions? What symbol did the Kabbalists adopt for the lost name of Deity? In what manner is the G supposed to have been substituted for the Hebrew Yod?
Should there be a distinction at this day between the G standing for Geometry and for Deity? What had Pythagoras and Plato to say concerning Geometry?
When will men have learned the secret of the letter G?
SUPPLEMENTAL REFERENCES
THE BUILDER:
Vol. III. Geometry in Masonic Symbolism, p. 349 The Letter G, p. 28. Vol. IV. "A Certain Point Within a Circle," p. 208. Vol. V. The Plan of Masonry, p. 269.
Mackey's Encyclopedia:
The Letter G, p. 287; Kabbala, p. 375
SECOND STEPS
BY BRO.H.L. HAYWOOD, IOWA
PART X - THE LETTER G
I
THE LETTER G is so intimately related to the symbolism of the Middle Chamber and all connected therewith that it will be wise, just here, to attempt an explanation of that mysterious letter. "Mysterious" is used advisedly because there has been very little agreement among our scholars either as to its origin or to its meaning. Usually we can hit upon the manner in which a symbol was introduced into the ritual by studying the records of the early eighteenth century in England at which time and place the ritual was cast in its modern form, but such a study can not help us here because the eighteenth century Masons were themselves confused about the matter. This confusion survives to our own day with some authorities holding to one theory, others to its opposite, and still others, like the Grand Master of one American Jurisdiction, inclined to throw the symbol out altogether. Mackey, who was always so conservative, was quite as radical as this Grand Master, as is witnessed by this statement: "It is to be regretted that this letter G as a symbol was ever admitted into the Masonic system."
II
One writer believes that the G stands for the Greek rendering of "geometry"; another, that it is the initial of the Greek name for "square"; Brother J.T. Lawrence thinks that it may be an old Egyptian snake emblem; others hold that it was originally the square made "gallows shape," and that this gradually became corrupted into a G. The most common theories, however, are that it stands for Geometry, or that it is the initial of our word "God." It will be necessary to examine these last interpretations more at length, for the evidence seems to favour one or the other, or perhaps both together.
One cannot read the old Masonic Constitutions without being struck by the prominence given to Geometry in their descriptions of Masonry. The oldest copy of them makes Masonry to spring from Geometry, as may be seen in the following excerpt:
"On this manner, thru good wit of geometry
Began first the Craft of Masonry."
Brother Hextall (A.Q.C., vol. 25, p. 97) has pointed out that in every one of the hundred or more copies of these Old Charges, or Old Constitutions, Geometry is placed first among sciences. How can we account for this? The most reasonable explanation would seem to be that Operative Masonry was nothing other than applied Geometry. The builder in that early day had no architectural handbook, no blue prints, no tables of and his skill consisted in knowing by heart many of the processes of Geometry, and his secrets were nothing other than these same processes and the knowledge of supplying them. This being the case, it was natural that he should hold his science in high reverence and make its name, represented by its initial letter, to serve as a symbol in his lodge. Such, at any rate, is the reading of the matter as held by a majority of our best modern scholars.
III
These scholars believe that when Freemasonry became stagnant in the seventeenth century, so that very few lodges remained in existence, Freemasons themselves lost the old explanation of the letter G though they retained the symbol because it was so essential a part of the system which they inherited. This, so it is believed, accounts for the confused explanations made by eighteenth century writers.
IV
How did the letter G ever come to stand for Deity? It is almost impossible to answer this question with any degree of certainty, because the available evidence is so slender, but it is thought by some that an explanation may be found in the connection between Freemasonry and Kabalism, for it is believed that some of the non-operatives "accepted" by the lodges in the seventeenth century brought a certain amount of Kabbala with them.
The symbolic system of the Kabbala centred about the Divine Name. According to ancient Jewish traditions the real name of God, given to the Jewish people through Moses, was not permitted to be written, except with the consonants only. At the time of the exile the pronunciation, and consequently the true spelling, of the Holy Name was lost. The consonants, J.H.W.H. remained, but what the vowels were nobody could discover; to find the Lost Name became one of the great ambitions of Jewish priests and scholars, and this search became one of the principal subjects in the literature of the Kabbala. Not having the name itself the Kabbalists were wont to inscribe a Hebrew "Y" (Yod) in the centre of a triangle with equal sides and make this stand for it.
It is supposed that this symbol was brought into Masonry by the non-operatives who were Kabbalists, but that in the course of time the common men who made up the lodges substituted for the Hebrew initial of the Divine Name, the English initial. Inasmuch as the initial letter of God was the same as the initial letter of Geometry the two symbols became confused, and at last the old Masonic meaning of G was forgotten.
V
If this history of the matter be correct - I have pieced it together from the opinions expressed by many of our most learned scholars - I do not see that we need to make any choice between G as standing for Geometry and G as standing for Deity; the two conceptions merge naturally because men have always seen in the Geometry which is everywhere found in nature the clearest unveiling of the Infinite Mind. The Greek philosopher, Pythagoras, who was the first man to raise Geometry to the rank of a science, built his philosophical system on numbers and their relations. "All things are in numbers," he said, "the world is living arithmetic in its development - a realized geometry in its repose." Of a similar mind was Plato, king of Greek philosophers. When asked how God spends his time, he replied, "God is always geometrizing." "Geometry rightly treated is the knowledge of the Eternal." "Geometry must ever tend to draw the soul towards the truth."
In spite of the enormous increase in knowledge we who live twenty-five hundred-years after those thinkers can still agree with them; science has only made more apparent the lucid order, the geometric symmetry of the universe. The very elements of which matter is composed group themselves together in regular order; crystals are a solid geometry; the plant, the tree, the construction of an insect's wing, are all symmetrical in their proportion and rhythmical in their motions; the stars move in curves, the wildest comet inscribes a spiral, and the whole universe is one vast realm of order and design. Surely, where there is so much order, there must be an Orderer!
As science builds itself on the orderliness of nature so does Masonry seek to build itself upon the equally certain laws of the human mind. Human beings are not exceptions to the universal reign of law. These axe laws of brotherhood, laws of love, laws of the ideal, as certain in their operations and as undeviating in their processes as the law of gravity. When men learn these laws, and when they adjust their actions to them, they will discover that the face of God has been made plain - they will have learned the secret of the letter G.
*******
SKELETON OR OUTLINE FOR LODGE HISTORIES
With a view to uniformity and comprehensiveness, and to assist those brethren appointed to prepare their lodge histories, we suggest the following skeleton or outline of the work, which should be varied according to circumstances. And we here remark that all members of the lodge should lend their assistance and co-operation in this work, especially in gathering up the facts which do not appear in the lodge records.
CHAPTER I.
Section 1 - Geographical location, surroundings, history, population, development and general condition, social and otherwise, of the community.
Section 2 - Preliminary steps to formation of the lodge. Names of the Brethren actively concerned in the movement, and of those who signed the petition for the dispensation, or charter, their occupations Masonic records and brief biographies. Other particulars of interest connected with them or the lodge in its early stages.
Section 3 - If an old lodge, formed prior to the adoption of the present form, a full copy of the petition, with signatures, would doubtless be of interest. Give name and number of the lodge that recommended the petition.
Section 4 - To what Grand Master or Deputy Grand Master the petition was presented, his action thereon and the date. Names of the Brethren appointed Master and Wardens of the new lodge.
Section 5 - When, by whom, and in what building, the lodge was opened under dispensation. Minutes of the first several meetings, or copious extracts or summaries thereof, showing how the new lodge started off.
Section 6 - If an old lodge, chartered prior to adoption of present form, a full copy, with signatures, of the petition for a charter. To what Communication of the Grand Lodge was it presented, when and where did the Grand Lodge meet, the report of the Committee on Lodges Under Dispensation, or other committee, thereon, and the action of the Grand Lodge. If refused, follow up the doings of the lodge till the charter was granted.
Section 7 - Where, by whom and in what building, was the lodge constituted? Names of its officers given in the charter and installed, minutes or summary thereof and the social or other functions incident to the occasion (if any).
Section 8 - Any facts of general Masonic, historical or local interest connected with the experiences and progress of the lodge and of Masons in the community. Copious summaries of the minutes might be of service.
CHAPTER II.
Section 1 - List of all the Worshipful Masters of the lodge and the year in which each was elected and installed, in chronological order.
Section 2 - A roll, in chronological order, of all the members of the lodge since its first organization, those "made" Master Masons by the lodge in one column, those affiliated in another.
Section 3 - A list of all Brethren who have died while members of the lodge, with date of death, and noting observance of the burial service (if any), with names of officers performing same and other Brethren present.
Section 4 - A brief historical account of the several lodge rooms occupied, the time of the occupancy of each, and the circumstances connected with or causing the changes, the leasing or building of each. A mention of any of the old lodge furniture or appurtenances might be of interest.
Section 5 - All traditions of interest connected with the lodge, especially in the early days, and contemporaneous events in the community in which the lodge or any of the Brethren were directly or indirectly concerned.
CHAPTER III.
Section 1 - Note time and circumstances connected with each visit of a Grand Officer, including the District Deputy Grand Master, to the lodge and the social functions (if any) incident thereto.
Section 2 - If the lodge was named for other than the town or some noted historical or Biblical character, explain the circumstances with biography of the namesake (if a person) or history of the case.
Section 3 - Biographical sketches of other prominent and deserving members of the lodge, past and present, but avoiding fulsome praises of the living.
Section 4 - Special mention of any member or members of the lodge who have held office in any of the Grand Bodies of Masonry in Texas or elsewhere (before coming here), or in the public service, local, state or national.
CHAPTER IV.
Section 1 - Accounts with dates and full particulars, including officers, members present, etc., of all notable functions or events in the lodge, public or private, such as:
(a) St. John's Day celebrations and public installations.
(b) Cornerstone ceremonies.
(c) Any others, Masonic, patriotic, etc.
CHAPTER V.
Section 1 - Brief mention of other Masonic bodies, in same town or county, with date of charter and other particulars. To these outlines could be added other features of interest, especially of things not preserved in Printed Proceedings of the Grand Lodge, - Grand Lodge Proceedings, Texas.
MEMORIALS TO GREAT MEN WHO WERE MASONS
BY BRO. GEO. W. BAIRD, P.G.M., DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
ANDREW JACKSON
THE MEMORIAL to Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of the United States, hero of the battle at New Orleans, and Past Grand Master of Freemasons, is in La Fayette Square in Washington directly opposite the Executive Mansion (now called the White House). It was the first equestrian statue erected in the Capitol City, and was unveiled on the 8th of January, 1853. Correspondence shows it had been the purpose to have a Masonic attendance, but the Grand Lodge was not at liberty to appear in Masonic clothing unless Masonic work was to be done, and no arrangements had been made for such "work."
The memorial was started through the efforts of the Jackson Democratic Association which subscribed $12,000 and Congress appropriated the additional amount of $20,000.
It was modeled by Brother Clark Mills, who had the courage to pose the horse on its two hind feet, and he succeeded in getting a balance, much to the surprise and admiration of many people. The memorial was pronounced a splendid work of art and was praised by the Press generally. President Jackson is shown in the uniform of a General Officer of the Army, in the period of 1812.
When this memorial was dedicated the Capitol City had a population of approximately 50,000, including government officials. The park where the monument was erected was but a common. The occasion of the dedication (the first that the writer ever witnessed) was probably the largest and most enthusiastic that had ever hitherto been witnessed in the city.
Such a thing as placing another memorial in that little park was never dreamed of, but when the memorial to La Fayette was in the course of construction in 1890 the question of location arose and it was determined to place it in La Fayette Square, immediately the old enemies of Jackson materialized and a drastic effort was made to remove the effigy of Jackson. It was even caricatured in an almanac as "Aries." Since then there has been placed a memorial in each corner of the square and all, excepting Kosciuso and Rochambeau, were Masons. The Kosciuso statue was presented to the government by the Polish Societies (Catholic), and though the word "Saratoga" appears on one side, "Racliwics" appears in equally large letters on the other side. The one was his American battle and the other a Russian battle.
Andrew Jackson and Henry Clay were the two prominent Masons who defied the Anti-Masonic Party which had its origin in the alleged "disappearance" of Morgan. These people essayed to make the Morgan episode a "Party issue" during Jackson's campaign, but "Old Hickory" stood pat and was elected President. More than this, he was reelected after serving a term of four years.
Jackson's opposition to the U.S. Bank system caused the destruction of many fortunes, and though he believed he was protecting the best interests of the commonwealth, his course was not generally approved. His principal opponents in this were Henry Clay and Daniel Webster. No National Bank existed from that time until the Civil War, when they sprang up in every State.
Jackson was much such a man as Roosevelt - he could separate public from personal offenses. He was easy to get into a fight with, but rarely, if ever offensive.
In his difference with Mr. Dickinson it is clear that he wished to avoid a fight. In fact, he commissioned a friend to so declare. Dickinson, reputed to be fearless, and the best shot in the State, was the man whom his enemies were using. Finally Dickinson became so offensive that Jackson felt obliged to challenge him. Dickinson won the right to give the word, and at eight paces gave it, and fired. Finding that Jackson gave no sign of being hit, Dickinson cried, "My God, have l missed him?"; then Jackson fired, and Dickinson’s funeral followed. But Jackson was hit, his breastbone being shattered, a rib broken and some intestinal injury that disabled him for several months.
His fight with Benton was none the less tragic, Jackson seemed to harbor no grudge, for they afterwards became good friends.
President Jackson's foreign policy was eminently successful. New commercial treaties were made with other nations, and old ones renewed. Indemnities for spoliations on American commerce were obtained from France, Spain, Italy and Portugal, and amicable relations were sustained with England. During Jackson’s second term the national debt was extinguished; Cherokee Indians were removed from Georgia, and the Creeks from Florida; and Arkansas and Michigan were admitted to the Union.
We may have greater men now - but when will we ever see the national debt cancelled again?
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But we are all intended, not to carve our work in snow that will melt, but each and all of us to be continually rolling a great white gathering snowball, higher and higher, larger and larger, along the Alps of human power. - Ruskin.
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Goodness and love mold the form to their own image, and cause the joy and beauty of love to shine forth from every part of the face. - Swedenborg.
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE LODGE INITIATION
BY BRO. G. GARLAND RIGGAN, KANSAS
THE RELATION of a lodge to its initiation is so important and so evident that even I the casual observer must have noted the closeness of the connection. To a great many the two are almost synonymous terms. To them there is no lodge without the initiation and the lodge exists for that initiation. To others who think more deeply, and therefore come closer to the truth, the initiation is the very life and breath of the lodge. It exists - it owes its existence to an act of initiation. The lodge cannot hope to grow unless it receives candidates. The initiation is therefore fundamental - the very existence of the lodge. Moreover the initiation is the power of attraction which calls its members again and again to the sessions of the lodge. Without it at least half of the attendance of the lodge would not have been present. Indeed it is a common observation that the attendance upon the lodge sessions is at the greatest when the degree work is at its best in both quantity and quality. Moreover, the initiation is the means - perhaps the principle - of enlisting the activity of the members in behalf of the order. The individual member can do one or both of two things for his order, he can attend and he can take part in the degree work. Therefore the initiation is rightly called "work" as it engages the activities of the members. The initiation consequently is primal in its relation to the lodge, its attendance, its activity and prosperity.
To this commonly accepted view there must be added that which is not so universally thought of in this connection, viz.: that of the candidate - how the candidate approaches the ceremony of initiation? - what is the mental state? - what method shall be employed to meet that state? These are considerations of first importance not only to the candidate but to the lodge itself - In short, the psychology of the candidate in and before the time of the initiation constitutes the very raison-d'etre for all the ceremony attendant upon the induction of the candidate into the full fellowship of the lodge.
The purpose of this article is therefore to trace the psychology of the whole situation in order that the ceremonies of initiation and their intrinsic worth may be better understood, and on the other hand, that the ceremonies may be improved in accordance with strict psychological principles to the end of improving the impression made upon the candidate in this most receptive period - in his lodge life.
THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CONDITION OF THE CANDIDATE
To those who will recall the time of their introduction into the preparation room adjacent to the lodge room of a secret order there will be required no argument to prove that there is a psychological condition of the candidate with which he approaches the ceremony of initiation. To the candidate who is receiving the degrees the mental state is unusually active, with extreme emphasis upon the emotions. The occasion once experienced will never be forgotten. What is that psychological condition? 1. The candidate craves information concerning the secrets of the degree and the principles of the order that he seeks to join. By conversation with his friends who may covertly or overtly have obtained his petition he has come to believe that there is a mass or body of truth concerning which he is in ignorance. The veiled comments upon the "lofty principles of the order," "the beautiful work...... the impressive degree," all go to strengthen the opinion that he has held more or less distinctly for some time. The candidate therefore comes possessed with a feeling of curiosity. If the initiation is even tolerably good his attention will be easily obtained throughout it all for his interest is enchained even in the preparation room. The nature of the degrees as far as he may understand gives him the impression that they are valuable. Therefore his mental condition is favourable, the candidate haying ascribed value to the principles and initiation even before he has received them. The lodge therefore can count upon the interested and appreciative attention of the candidate from the very start.
2. The candidate craves an individualistic experience. In a dim way he realizes that the initiation is an experience through which he must pass. Even though he approaches the hour with a slight feeling of dread owing to the uncertainty that he feels (not of course knowing what will happen to him), nevertheless he desires to receive it. "Others have gone that way before him," he is told. The very fact that he is to undergo a common experience makes him feel that he must not be unequal to the test. Moreover if others have endured this he surely can and moreover he will. The mental condition therefore is that of pride and bravery coupled with the secret desire to have the experience. Having heard of the "goat" that he must ride and also of the "beautiful work," he looks for some individualistic experience which he must undergo - something that is extremely personal. Therefore he looks for action of some kind. He expects to take part in that action - for the action to centre around him and that either actively or passively he shall be the centre of attraction in all the movement. This, of course, requires in his thought that he shall pass through alone for only as he is alone can he hope to be the centre of attraction and of action in the ceremonies. It is an open question whether this feeling is due to the preceding influence brought to bear upon the candidate by the thought of the ceremony of initiation or rather the initiation is made to meet the psychological need of the candidate. The author is inclined to view the initiation as a situation created for the benefit of the candidate and that there is in the candidate a psychological need that calls for action - individual action - individual experience and that the initiation is placed as the means of introduction to the lodge as a concession to him. The initiation therefore must satisfy this need. Not to face this demand in the initiation is to disappoint the candidate in his reception.
3. The candidate is prepared to pledge allegiance to the order with which he seeks to connect himself. He does not realize that this must be in the form of an obligation or an oath unless he has experienced some other initiation, in which case, he receives it as a matter of course. But even if he does not realize that it forms a part of the initiation, nevertheless his mind is prepared for the obligation which he finds that he must assume, for latently he has a dim perception that he is throwing in his lot with the order and that his interests and its interests are to be one and the same. Consequently there is all the feeling of loyalty that is more or less latent to which he will be glad to give expression in the assumption of an obligation. To deprive him of an obligation is to take from him or to fail to develop by open expression that sentiment which is within him. Having surmised that the initiation is more or less physical and in the nature of a test he is prepared in spirit that the obligation should be more or less strenuous and since he knows that he is not joining for just a few years but, for perhaps the rest of his life, he will upon consideration, be willing to recognize the connection would require the strongest ties known to mankind.
Again a further consideration will urge him. These are to be his brethren and, if so, he is to be tied to them by some common tie. This tie he will discover could be no stronger than the tie of the obligation and, without the obligation, there could indeed be no order at all, for fraternity rests upon the realization of an obligation or a responsibility for others, which is natural. 4. The candidate is prepared for fellowship after initiation. Dimly he realizes that somehow the initiation is the basis of the fellowship that is to ensue on its completion. This is one of the reasons why he is willing to pass through it. He looks to see, perhaps at the time or if not then, afterwards the relationship between these initiations and the fellowship. The nation therefore in order to meet his expectations must emphasize the great principles or common experience by which the whole brotherhood is bound. For the lodge to fail to do this would be to fail to respond to the psychological need of the candidate.
THE METHOD OF MEETING THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CONDITION OF THE CANDIDATE
Having seen more or less, in detail, the psychological condition of the candidate prior and during the ceremonies of initiation we must now turn to examine how the initiation can best strengthen and supply that need. Herein is the great success or great failure of the degree. A properly constructed ritual will so adapt itself to the candidate's condition that the two will fit each other as does the glove the hand for which it is made. Let us note:
1. The initiation must give instruction in the principles of the Order. This, of course, is recognized by every student of the question. The problem is not so much what shall be said as how it shall be said and at what times. Now the great and common appeal or the means of imparting instruction that is moral and spiritual is through symbolism. Symbolism speaks a universal tongue understood by all after it is explained. Moreover, its use appeals to the imagination of him who receives it. The candidate being in a receptive mental condition as has been shown, is prepared to receive the instruction in the teachings of the order if given in the form of symbols which are later explained. Perhaps he may surmise during the progress of the initiation that every movement has a meaning and that if he will only be patient all will be made clear to him. When he comes to understand them, however, the meaning will be impressed upon his mind all the more because at one time they were not understood. If, moreover, he has the faculty of imagination the connection - the symbolic connection between the movement and its explanation - the meaning will delight him and strengthen his belief in the order by the cleverness and beauty of the symbolism. The initiation is therefore a response to that which is innate in every man, the use of symbols. Human language itself is a symbolism. The very word that we utter is but a sign or abbreviated picture of the thing or the mental state that accompanies the presentation of the thing. All life therefore is based more or less upon a symbolism until it becomes almost instinctive in the human mind. Therefore no better method of instruction could be employed than symbolism. Thrice blessed indeed is the secret order that has been able to work out a consistent symbolism in its degrees for through its symbols it can hope to speak to the human mind better than by any other method.
In addition to this, there is call for direct instruction. The candidate must be told the principles of the Order and not left to infer them altogether. If he has passed through ceremonies the meaning of which he has not thoroughly comprehended these must be explained to him in detail. Here two methods must be used - the eye and the ear.
According to psychologists the majority of persons are eye-minded or receive impressions better by the eye than any other way. The lodge therefore must make large use of the visual. Its symbolism should be shown completely. If characters are impersonated they should wear the robes suitable to the impersonation. All stage properties should be real that the impression of reality may be the better realized. Moreover the candidate should be shown, perhaps by the chart, the object or by the stereopticon, the principles of the order. He can grasp them better in that way than in any other, even better than by the ear. Still, however, there is a large appeal through the ear and the method of instruction through oral comment and the effective degree must not fail to make use of plain instructive and beautiful oral explanation throughout its work. Between the two, the oral and the symbolic, there should be, if possible, a connection in order that there may be unity. The fitting order seems to be first the symbolism. This is more universal and will impress the candidate, thereby gaining his attention and fastening his curiosity. This gives large scope for action. Later on in order to satisfy this curiosity symbolism can be explained to him and by the connection now understood the principles of the order are more clearly impressed upon his mind.
2. Action must play a large part in the method of meeting the psychological condition of the candidate. As has been before said the candidate expects an experience and in reality demands it. The initiation, therefore, must place a large emphasis upon action. The candidate must be doing something or having something done to him. It is not sufficient for him to sit to one side and see something done. He must be in the work. It must be done to him else it largely loses its impression.
If the reader will think over the degree that he has received he must admit that the degree which has remained most vividly in his mind is the one in which there has been a large emphasis upon individual action. There are degrees in which he himself took part - perhaps alone - in which he was the centre of action and in which he received the full force of the action - these are the degrees which will ever live in memory of the candidate.
The attendance of the lodge is a testimony to the same fact. One of the great elements of attraction in a degree is the large emphasis upon action - action centring around the candidate. To illustrate: The great appeal of the Master Mason degree is the large emphasis placed upon the action centring in and around the candidate and the dramatic portrayal of a story in animated action - these are the forces that bring the lodge-goer night after night to see the third degree above all others. The universal testimony is that even the occasional lodge-goer will always seek out the third degree and attend that one even if he is never seen for the first and the second degrees. The reason for this has been stated - the large use of action in the degree. The present tendency in lodge circles, in our opinion, does violence to the psychological principle. The common procedure today is that of large classes in which the candidate does not take part - an individualistic part - in the work. He with his ninety and nine fellow candidates are ushered into the lodge room, given a front seat and look upon the degree as it is conferred in more or less spectacular form. In all this time he is quiescent. He does nothing save look upon the action of others. He is not the centre of the action but merely a spectator of it. Moreover the fact that he is but one of a score or more makes him lose the individuality that ought to be brought out upon the occasion of his initiation. The man does not receive the individual attention that should be his, in response to the psychological need. The inevitable result is that he goes away from the ceremony of initiation more or less unimpressed because he has had no action - no individualistic action on his part. Though he may admire the costumes, scenery and the principles as exemplified by others, and in the action of others, nevertheless they have not taken hold of him in the way to produce a lasting effect.
This has been the great power of the third degree in Freemasonry. It is that the candidate is the centre of action - that he is singled out - brought to the fore-front of the stage of action. He who - has received this degree can never eradicate the impression that is made by this individualistic experience. Therefore the present tendency to degree teams and large classes is doing direct violence to the psychological principles of the candidate. The result will be that the candidate will not take the hold of the principles that he should, which he otherwise would have had, and of course cannot set them forth in his life because of the failure of the initiation to impress them upon him at the most impressionable time in his lodge life.
Another tendency of lodge procedure is to eliminate all that comes under the head of "rough work," "horse play" or unwarranted physical action. This has been gradually eliminated because in some instances it has been unwisely conferred and was hence objectionable. The pendulum seems now to be swinging in the other direction and all action is sometimes removed, to such a degree that all the interest is taken out of them. There is no more "horse play" but there is no more tense interest.
Now there is nothing that so impresses a candidate as physical action - movement of the body in some form. He is prepared in thought for a certain amount of roughness in the initiation and not to have it there is to leave him unsatisfied. He will likely view the whole procedure as a very "tame affair" if he has not received some action throughout the performance and having an opinion that the initiation is devoid of interest he does not possess the enthusiasm necessary to influence other possible candidates. The great success and prosperity of the order of the Mystic Shrine is due in no small measure, if the report is correct to the employment of physical action in its degree work. Even if the "sands are hot" the Shrine does not fail to attract its quota of devotees and candidates year after year.
Some may say that there is some of the element of the brute left in mankind. This must be admitted. But however that maybe there is an innate desire even in the heart of the child as well as in the heart of the man to be the centre of action, if passive, to be the centre of the received action and the man who is but a grown-up child demands that this psychological need be grafted. We therefore think that the rituals should be so revised as not to do violence to this principle laid down by the psychological laws.
3. The candidate is prepared to receive, and the initiation should therefore provide, an obligation. As has been indicated the candidate craves expression. His loyalty and his allegiance - he must declare them. The obligation gives him this opportunity. To be a success from a psychological point of view an obligation possesses several characteristics. a. It involves action. The candidate must do something during the time that the obligation is administered to him or something must be done to him at that time. If the obligation can be so arranged in the initiation that it will come as a climax it will be all the more impressive especially if the action either by posture of hand or body by which the candidate must assume the obligation, is symbolical.
b. The obligation must furnish the basis of the fellowship that ensues. It must lay the foundation of a responsibility that the candidate assumes and a responsibility that the other members of the order have with reference to the newly obligated brother. He must be made to feel by its provisions that he is being vitally related to the order and its fellowship. For the obligation to fail here is to fail at a vital point and to leave some feelings forever unsatisfied in the heart of the candidate - feelings that will affect his conduct towards the lodge ever afterwards.
c. The obligation must be administered impressively. This perhaps is the reason why in so many orders that the obligation is administered with the eyes closed, the hoodwink being on the candidate. Shut from the world of light by the hoodwink he can give himself more in thought to the obligation that he is receiving and the impression made by the obligation is thereby rendered greater and more lasting. In addition to this if there can be some symbolical movement in the infliction of the penalty on the candidate or the re-enforcing of the obligation by some duty that the candidate must perform immediately upon the assumption of the obligation, the impression created by the obligation will then be made all the greater. To those who have had the degrees in any secret order where such methods have been employed instances will readily be brought to mind and upon analysis, will be found to be one of the most effective parts of the initiation.
4. The principles of the order must be embodied in the obligation to some extent. It stands to reason why that the majority of the obligations are taken in the presence of Almighty God for upon the basis of Deity and the belief and recognition of Deity the lodge holds its existence and it is only proper that at the time of the obligation there should be an emphasis upon that principle.
5. Moreover, the terms of the obligation should show forth the principles of the order in concrete fashion by demanding certain concrete acts and forbidding other concrete acts. This method will occur to the participant in the third degree in Masonry as one of the most effective parts in that obligation as received. From this standpoint the obligation of the third degree is more impressive than the obligations of the first and second.
Of all these things, we see that there must be a great emphasis upon the time, place and manner and content of the obligation in order to satisfy the psychological need of loyalty to the lodge and its brothers that is in the heart of the candidate.
6. The initiation should give an opportunity for the candidate to participate at once in the fellowship, duties, responsibilities and benefits of the order. This is perhaps one of the reasons why nearly every impressive initiation gives a souvenir to the candidate, though it is not the only means by which the order or initiation is to be remembered, but rather is a visible sign to him that he belongs to the fellowship of the lodge and is a part of it. This same impression is strengthened by sometimes extending the hand of fellowship after the initiation in order to make the candidate realize that he is indeed a member.
7. Again the initiation should be the means of identification of the member and of his right to the privileges of the order. Not only is it the door of his entrance to the order but it should be the means of the recognition that he is entitled to its benefits. The emphasis placed upon it will but strengthen its importance in his mind. If he is receiving a number of degrees and catches the idea in the conferring of the first degree that all the others which he shall receive are but the means (or are to be used as the means) of identification he will appreciate the initiation all the more. All these considerations should be brought out by the lodge in its ceremonial initiation in order that the psychological condition of the candidate might again be satisfied.
SOME PRACTICAL POINTS IN THE APPLICATION OF, THE PSYCHOLOGICAL METHOD
Having in view the psychological method in general let us now observe some of the practical applications as found or as should be found in the practical ceremony of initiation.
1. When one faculty or one of the senses is closed temporarily a greater appeal must be made to the other avenues that are left open. If the candidate is hoodwinked in a stage of the ceremony the appeal must be made in other ways - through the ear and through touch, or even through the sense of smell. The lodge should take care to introduce music at the time that the candidate is hoodwinked. The music should be appropriate, of course, but even if it is not so very appropriate it will be appreciated all the more by the candidate because it is about the only sense impression that he can receive at the time and can therefore give himself undividedly to it.
The author can recall upon a similar occasion that he heard the hymn "There is a land that is fairer than day" as it seemed to him then most impressively sung. In reality it was most indifferently sung upon that occasion but because the eyes were closed the audible impression was rendered all the greater and in fact made up for the deficiency in the harmony.
Especially should the odours of the lodge room not interfere with the impression made upon the candidate. If incense is to be burned let it not be burned when the eyes of the candidate are closed. Surely he should not at the time when perhaps he is most solemnly impressed meet the smell of tobacco smoke or of the fetid air of the lodge room. All these would but tend to distract his attention and detract from the ceremony.
The candidate, when hoodwinked especially, is also cognizant of the handling of his body whether efficiently or inefficiently done. There should be care in the movements around the lodge-room that in the handling of the body of the candidate it be done in such a way when he is hoodwinked that it will not interfere but strengthen the desired impression. Again the candidate is also conscious of the way in which the work is delivered to him and the way in which the ritual is recited, whether poorly or well. There is therefore the great need for proficient ritualists at this time in order that the candidate may be duly impressed and not interfered with by the failure of memory. In a word the candidate is, at the time that his eyes are closed, most alive to sound, and smell and touch. All these should be used to the strengthening of the impression of the moment.
2. Great care should be taken with the scene that is observed by the candidate when the hoodwink is removed. This is a part wherein all the lodge should operate. If there is a special line formation then let that formation be strictly observed in order that the first impression may be fitting and lasting. The candidate when will as a rule not soon forget the first sight. It is engraven upon his mind forever. The lodge should therefore by the cooperation of all, seek to make that first impression pleasing and correct.
3. Great attention should be paid to the scenic effect. Lodge rooms should be especially well furnished. Their walls are not the place for pictures that do not strengthen the impressions of the moment of initiation. To look at the average lodge-room walls is to observe the photographs and portraits that look down from the walls placed there to perpetuate the memory of good men but they do not Strengthen the impression of the hour of initiation.
A lodge should spend money upon proper robes and stage effects, etc. This is not extravagance, for the candidate properly impressed by an initiation will be stirred to get others for the rite of the order or, if he is not allowed to solicit openly, his enthusiasm will stir up others to join. The bareness of many lodge-rooms is one of the contributing causes for the dead and half dead condition of some of the country lodges. A proper expenditure therefore upon equipment is not only laudable but necessary.
4. In keeping with the foregoing suggestion large use should be made of instruction by use of the eye. This, as has been indicated, can be done by the use of stereopticon and in part by the use of the object as there may be need. If possible to illustrate the lecture by the use of the concrete object the impression is greatly strengthened. The author recalls upon one occasion that the symbols in connection with the lodge stereopticon but by small models of the symbols themselves. The impression was heightened in accordance with the psychological law that the mind prefers the actual object even to the representation of it.
5. The initiation should contain an element of surprise. If the candidate can forecast what is to happen to him his interest is greatly decreased. Those who have received degrees in different orders can bear witness to the fact that one of the most impressive things is a surprise - some unexpected turn of the initiation. Especially are the surprises all the more impressive if they are connected with the lesson of the degree and, if unappreciated by the candidate, at least they are never lost upon the audience. However, the candidate rarely ever fails to perceive it. One of the strong points of the initiation of the third degree is that one thing - the surprise of the second half of the degree.
6. Attention should be paid to the large influence of the physical action in the degree work and of its power upon both audience and candidate. The author is of the firm opinion that the degree should not be made less strenuous but should be conferred with more dignity with all its strenuousness. Those who are as assisting in the conferring of the degree should take pains not to laugh but should treat the roughness of the physical action as a mere incident in the proper presentation of the degree. Viewed in this light even the roughness becomes most impressive and teaches it own lesson. The fault therefore and the need of improvement should be not so much in the work but in those that confer the degrees that they should learn to observe the decorum of the occasion.
7. The important place held by the obligation in the ceremony of initiation should not be forgotten. In character, administration, its connection with what has preceded, its relation to the fraternity, the principle of the order, and its secrecy as related to the rest the world - all these should be carefully guarded. Though it may not be of such importance or interest to the spectator, it must ever be held in mind that it one of the most impressive parts of the ceremony initiation as regards the candidate and is so received by him.
We must therefore conclude that the ceremony initiation fills a psychological need in the candidate. It is not therefore a thing to be slurred over but a thing to be most carefully considered from every angle a and more especially from the standpoint of psychology seeing that after all is said, the very purpose of the lodge is to influence the mind or the soul of the initiate a that the ceremony of initiation is the only way (or the most important way) of accomplishing that end.
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To think, and to feel, constitute, the two grand divisions of men of genius - the men of reasoning and the men of imagination. - Isaac Disraeli
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There is nothing strictly immortal, but immortality. what ever hath no beginning may be confident of no end. - Sir Thomas Browne
EDITORIAL
THE RULE OF GOLD - OR THE GOLDEN RULE?
A LABOR journal not long ago made much about the observation of an eminent Frenchman who was quoted as saying that the cause of the downfall of monarchies was poverty, and that the cause of the downfall of republics was their wealth. (coming to our notice at a time of such vital-national controversy over the distribution of wealth, and the betterment of our social condition, it has caused us to question whether this may not prove to be the ultimate fate of these United States. A dispassionate investigation certainly serves to bring out for our notice certain forces that will contribute to the death of the Republic that we have created if they are not speedily and effectively checked.
In any case the Frenchman's observation ought to challenge us in such a manner as would cause us to take full measure of our national circumstances and the effort to that end must be along the line that will discern in general the nature of the demoralizing agencies that are present with us.
The diagnosis of our social ills must be comprehensive, and the adjustment that is made must be made without fear or favor. We must fully recognize that as we have fundamental rights that are unquestionably guaranteed by the Constitution of these United States, even so there are things in our midst that are fundamentally wrong, contrary to the spirit of the Constitution, and ever militating against the establishing of the nobler order in which justice and equity and social tranquility will be the lot of each and all.
In our investigation let us inquire briefly what part wealth is playing in our national demoralization. We speak of demoralization advisedly, and intend merely to indicate thereby certain tendencies which, if unchecked, will surely bring it to pass. The ruthlessness with which competition has been carried on in trade, the unpitying cupidity whereby large elements of our population have been kept above the subsistence line, and the lawlessness which we have tolerated to abuse our liberties has fomented a situation in which anarchy can only be the logical expression if we do not change things.
If we make a category of our national ills, foremost in interest will be the capital and labor problems. So dominant is the situation revolving around these two factors of our civilization that we may well believe that an effort to ascertain the sympathies of the public would find them sharply drawn into either one of these two camps, for things have so resolved themselves that each finds himself vitally concerned in the claims of either one of these two powers.
Of a verity the rule of gold is the most potent thing in the life of this nation at this moment, and the golden rule concerns itself only with yesterday and with One who taught and practiced it and who lived long ago. He was deemed to be impractical, void of business vision and his sole claim to an eternal hearing is his insistence that men should live in peace and unity.
Let us solemnly ponder again the observation of the eminent Frenchman who declared that the death of republics was due to their wealth, and let us with equal solemnity inquire as to whether the golden rule or brotherly dealings with reference to ends other than filthy lucre may not be the most profitable basis for our assuring the continuance of this nation as an exemplar of morality and wise government, before all the peoples of the earth.
We believe we are safe in presuming that the quest for wealth is indeed a quest for power that life itself may be enjoyed in its fullest measure; but past history surely should warrant us in believing that the acquisition of wealth has militated more frequently for human downfall than human uplift. The glory that was Rome ought to be a perpetual warning against the quest of wealth for the pleasures that it brings. We are working out the problem of human life from wrong premises. Our salvation is impossible on the plane of selfish aspiration and factional or partisan cupidity.
What we have indicated may be conceded to be the aspiration of the rich and powerful, and such, too, may be said to be the aspiration of those who are in a less fortunate position. Each faction is striving after wrong ends, by entertaining false standards of what is the greatest good in life. A shoddy imitation of the rich can never bring happiness to the poor. The insane effort to outdo the luxurious enjoyments of others will never be conducive to the establishing of an exemplary morality. Let us recognize that we are not only living in too many instances beyond our means, but we are living just as frequently beyond our necessities and the warfare for the division of the spoils is continually aggravated.
A short while ago a certain financial journal of high standing stated that what our age needed most was a revival of religion. In this we heartily concur. For religion would rivet men's attention once more upon righteousness. We would deal with men as men. Human welfare and happiness would gain preeminence over exploitation, wages, dividends and hours. Religion would repudiate the nauseating sensationalism that we patronize which is at once both an indication of our inferior taste and a witness to our deterioration.
Religion would insist that in art, music and literature things should be measured again by their fitness to disseminate the ideals of beauty and goodness. And the religion of all good men, as we understand it Masonically, is one of the most potent agencies for this purpose that exists in the world today. We are to insist that the great god quantity shall be supplanted by quality, that cheapness and shoddiness shall give way for workers whose pattern will be discovered in those Builders who grace our Masonic ancestry. We are to see that thrift once more is crowned and the spendthrift eternally banished. We are to give to labor the respect due unto its worth and dignity; we are to change life by an application of our highest-ideals in the spirit of religious enthusiasm by consecration and sacrifice to the only worthy and divinely sanctioned ends.
Thus alone can the republic be saved from the things that the possession of wealth gives rise to and that in themselves contain the malignant energies of disintegration.
Robert Tipton.
THE LIBRARY
EDITED BY BRO. ROBERT TIPTON
The object of this Department is to acquaint our readers with time-tried Masonic books not always familiar; with the best Masonic literature now being published; and with such non-Masonic books as may especially appeal to Masons. The Library Editor will be very glad to render any possible assistance to studious individuals or to study clubs and lodges, either through this Department or by personal correspondence; if you wish to learn something concerning any book - what is its nature, what is its value, or how it may be obtained - be free to ask him. If you have read a book which you think is worth a review write us about it; if you desire to purchase a book - any book - we will help you get it, with no charge for the service. Make this YOUR Department of Literary Consultation.
SYMBOLISM OF THE THREE DEGREES
"Symbolism of the Three Degrees," by Brother Oliver Day Street, reprinted from THE BUILDER. Sixty-eight pages, paper covers. Price 35 cents. Special price in lots of twenty-five or more for presentation by lodges to members.
WE WOULD like to draw the attention of our readers to a work by our Brother Oliver Day Street, of Alabama, entitled "Symbolism of the Three Degrees." The book first appeared as a series of articles in THE BUILDER. The highest commendation is due Brother Street for the remarkably lucid exposition of the significance of the three degrees in so small a space. The generous amount of references appended to the work, coupled with their use evidenced in the writing, is indicative of Brother Street's Masonic scholarship and breadth of reading.
It is a work of such character as will readily make intelligible to the initiate the symbols of our Order and it furnishes ample and satisfactory references to such works as the Mason might care to read for further light and information on the symbolic significance of Masonry.
The Library Editor would commend this to lodges desiring to place in the hands of their new initiates a work that would prove both interesting and fruitful to the studious.
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A MODEL LODGE HISTORY
"History of Altemont Lodge," by Dr. Fred S. Piper, 20 Clarke St., Lexington, Mass.
One of the needs of local lodges today is a local historian, one who can compile those facts of history in connection with the lodge that ought to be preserved. There has recently come to our desk a small book containing the History of Altemont Lodge No. 26, Petersborough, New Hampshire. It covers the period from its founding in 1815 to its Centenary in 1915. Brother Dr. Fred Smith Piper is its author, and he has done his work in such a way as may well stand as an example for other historians. Very suggestive is his dissertation on how Altemont came to be selected as the name of the lodge. The glimpse that he gives us of the early members is one that gives us a full impression of the ruggedness of the Fathers of the Craft in this country.
As he endeavors to record from year to year the working of the lodge, many things of interest come to our notice. Among the early chronicles we discover the practice of balloting on the candidates for each degree, and Altemont seemed to have been rather reluctant in giving up the practice. A little later there is the record of a trial in which we see that there was no easy tolerance of those who did not keep close to the path of Masonic virtue. Still later there is the record of a vote prohibiting the further expenditure of the lodge's money for liquor. As our historian continues, he arrives at the Morgan controversy. There is quite a vivid impression given of that momentous period and the relative attitude of the lodges of New Hampshire at that time. Altemont apparently did not stand out as some of the other lodges, but it is suggested there might have been some meetings held of which no record was kept. We have sufficient evidence here of the ruggedness of soul that Masons of that period must have possessed.
Unqualified courage must of necessity have been fundamental for only one who adhered to his convictions through thick and thin could afford to be a Mason those days. Our historian indulges in some splendid observations on Masonry and its teaching and the Masonic character. His effort in this direction we believe to be a reflection of the temper that characterized those who have been members of Altemont. Not a large lodge, but one given to serious work and weighty matters.
Great pride is taken by our brother in the public achievements of its distinguished members. It is indeed a worthy record, which may be amplified upon and as heretofore suggested may serve as an example for the much needed historian in all lodges. It would be a matter of perennial delight to those interested in a local body if some worthy brother would extract from the record such facts as when read would indicate the historical things of interest that.have taken place during the life of the lodge, and there is no estimating the value of the record of the distinguished Masons who have attained position and power in public life, who attribute their great initiative to Masonic fellowship and inspiration. Let this work of recording the history of lodges be considered seriously and may it result in the realization of works that will add luster to Masonic data.
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A COMPARISON OF PRESENT‑DAY CONDITIONS
WITH THOSE OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY
"Walled Towns," by Ralph Adams Cram. Published by Marshall Jones Company, 212 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts, at $1.25.
Ralph Adams Cram has a decisive challenge for the moment in his book "Walled Towns." We could wish indeed that this book could be placed in the hands of all thinking men among the Craft. It is a practical suggestion and practical because of its suggestiveness of a way out of our present social and economic difficulties. Its introduction is a sharp contrasting of conditions existent in the fifteenth century and the present day. None but an artist could have depicted so realistically the idealistic phases of fifteenth century civilization. And none but one who is sharply sensitive to the presence of all the moral ugliness that darkens the sun could depict conditions as they are existent today.
Ruskin himself could not make one feel more keenly the dark moral limitations of our times than has Cram. His "Walled Towns" is a thundering protest against the artificiality of our civilization with its emphasis on quantity rather than quality.
A splendid picture of all Walled Towns, such as would be practical for our time and purpose could we but be persuaded to try it, is a picture of the town of Beaulieu which, as our author informs us, is about forty miles from one of the great manufacturing cities of New England.
The Walled Town offering as it does a remedy for our existent social awryness is capable of establishment wherever men will experiment along its lines. As a factor in our national betterment it is not dependent upon the solution of every problem at Washington or some other metropolis. Trade unions could well learn a lesson from a study of the idealisms that actuated its prototypes, the Gilds.
Again let us say, it is a volume comprehensive in its suggestiveness and a pertinent challenge to all who would see a more equitable and righteous social and economic condition existing, who love beauty in preference to ugliness, and who prize excellence of attainment in work and art, rather than the meddlesome blundering which creates and tears down with reference to filthy lucre. A sane book by a man who believes that society should be governed and its problems adjusted in reference to God and for the good of Man.
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A HISTORY OF KNIGHT TEMPLARISM
"History of Knights Templar of Pennsylvania," compiled by Julius F. Sachse, Librarian and Curator of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. Issued by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. Members of the Society interested in securing a copy of this work are directed to communicate with "The Librarian, Masonic Temple, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania," regarding the sale price of the book.
The Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania is to be congratulated on the issuance of this splendidly decorated volume. It contains brief epitomes of the history of Knights Templar with reference to their work in Ireland, Scotland and France and the relationship of Templary in those countries with its establishment in the United States.
The part played by the Army Lodges in introducing Knight Templary in this country is admirably so forth. The book as referred to, is amply illustrated with plates of aprons and charters and certificates pertaining to its early days in this country. Photographs of worthy and eminent Knights lend grace to its pages.
Our Brother Sachse has not lived to receive this congratulation on his fine achievement, but his splendid researches have long ere this brought their deserved fame. This work in particular has resulted in bringing together a valuable array of interesting material. It is a fitting crown to a life full of achievement in behalf of the Fraternity to which the life was so largely given. The Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, while they mourn his loss, will have a cherished memory and a prodigious record of work well done within their Jurisdiction in behalf of Freemasonry the world over.
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"HOW TO MAKE PERFECTION APPEAR"
"How to Make Perfection Appear," by Katharine Francis Pedrick. Price $1.25. Published by Lothrop, Lee & Shephard Co., 93 Federal Street, Boston, Massachusetts.
This little book is indicative of the author's wide reading and deep thinking. From a previous work we gather that she is a practical mystic. In some measure a continuation of her plea for more idealism with reference to the great unseen is carried on in this book.
The potential divinity of man is charmingly stated in a chapter dealing with the way of the spiritual idealist. For a book dealing in metaphysical subtleties it is written in a manner that makes it pleasantly readable and spiritually helpful. Harmony with the great within ought to be the supreme effort of everyone for knowledge, love and goodness are potential factors in the life of every man.
A oneness with God is the paramount issue dealt with throughout the book and the reverent spirit reealed therein will be conducive to attracting people to the reading of other of the author's works after finishing this one.
FEBRUARY BOOK LIST
PUBLICATIONS ISSUED BY THE SOCIETY
1915 bound volume of THE BUILDER $3.75
1916 bound volume of THE BUILDER 3.75
1917 bound volume of THE BUILDER 3.75
1918 bound volume of THE BUILDER 3.75
1919 bound volume of THE BUILDER (for delivery about
February 1st or 15th) 3.75
1722 Constitutions ( reproduced by photographic plates from an original copy in the archives of the Iowa Masonic Library, Cedar Rapids). Edition limited, 2.00
Philosophy of Masonry, Roscoe Pound 1.25
"The Story of Old Glory, The Oldest Flag," Bro. J. W. Barry, P. G. M., Iowa, red buffing binding, gilt lettering, illustrated. A story of the Flag and Masonry, 1.25
"The Story of Old Glory, The Oldest Flag," paper covers .50
"Further Notes on the Comacine Masters," W. Ravenscroft, England. A sequel to "The Comacines, Their Predecessors and Their Successors," a Masonic digest of Leader Scott's book "The Cathedral Builders" and containing the latest researches of Brother Ravenscroft which present a very logical argument for the connection of Freemasonry of the present day with the Roman Collegia and traveling Masons of the early times, paper covers, illustrated .50
Symbolism of the First Degree, Gage, pamphlet .15
Symbolism of the Third Degree, Ball, pamphlet .15
Symbolism of the Three Degrees, Street, 68 pages, paper covers. The lessons and symbols of each degree traced to their origin, in every instance that it has been possible to so trace them. Brother Street gives many explanations of our symbols in this little book on which our monitors but vaguely touch .35
Deeper Aspects of Masonic Symbolism, Waite, pamphlet .15
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PUBLICATIONS FROM OTHER SOURCES IN IN STOCK AT ANAMOSA
"The Builders," a Story and Study of Masonry, by Brother Joseph Fort Newton, formerly Editor-in-Chief of THE BUILDER $ 1.50
Mackey's Encyclopaedia, 1919 edition, in two volumes, Black Fabrikoid binding 15.00
Symbolism of Freemasonry, A. G. Mackey 3.15
Masonic Jurisprudence, A. G. Mackey 3.15
Masonic Parliamentary Law, A. G. Mackey 2.15
Freemasonry in America Prior to 1750, Melvin M. Johnson, P.G.M., Massachusetts 1.35
Collected Essays on Freemasonry, Robert Freke Gould 7.00
Concise History of Freemasonry, Robert Freke Gould 4.50
The foregoing prices include postage and insurance or registration fee on all items except pamphlets. The latter will be sent by regular mail not insured or registered.
THE QUESTION BOX
THE BUILDER is an open forum for free and fraternal discussion. Each of its contributors writes under his own name, and is responsible for his own opinions. Believing that a unity of spirit is better than a uniformity of opinion, the Research Society, as such, does not champion any one school of Masonic thought as over against another, but offers to all alike a medium for fellowship and instruction, leaving each to stand or fall by its own merits.
The Question Box and Correspondence Column are open to all members of the Society at all times. Questions of any nature on Masonic subjects are earnestly invited from our members, particularly those connected with lodges or study clubs which are following our "Bulletin Course of Masonic Study." When requested, questions will be answered promptly by mail before publication in this department.
A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF MASONIC BOOKS
Can you tell me where I may obtain a bibliography of the bestMasonic literature? T. A. Jr., Texas.
This question bobs up almost daily in our mail from new members who are constantly joining the Society. We have been replying to these inquiries by referring these brethren to the monthly book lists published in the "Library Department in each issue of THE BUILDER since it has become an impossibility to secure but few of the standard works which have been published in the past few years. To secure many of the older publications is out of the question entirely.
The little work on the Comacine Masters, by Brother Ravenscroft of England, of which we secured the only remaining copies in the hands of his English publishers several months ago, is now out of print. We recently purchased one hundred copies of Gould's "Concise History of Freemasonry" from England and immediately placed an order for another hundred, but the publishers write us that this is now "out of print" and that no further copies are available. We hope, however, to hear from them within the course of the next month or so to the effect that a new edition is being printed.
Brother D. D. Berolgheimer, Librarian of Johnkeer Lodge No. 865, of Yonkers, N. Y., one of the few literary lodges in the United States, has furnished us with the following list of Masonic works suitable for a Masonic library, but he states frankly that the average Mason who has not made a lengthy study of Masonry would quickly get beyond his depth if he attempted to read some of the works included therein.
In publishing this list we wish to impress upon the members of the N.M.R.S. that we are not in a position to obtain copies of these books for them, nor do we believe that many of them are on the market. It is quite possible, however, that some of them as well as others of value not here listed, may be picked up here and there in stores dealing in second-hand books, and we would recommend that strict search and due inquiry be made among the several establishments of this kind in every city to see if any of them may be found. Assist us, brethren, in digging up these treasures that may be lying here and there among the rubbish, and, if you do not want them for your own library, inform us of any such finds, giving the price, condition, and name of the dealer from whom they may be purchased, that they may find a place in the libraries of those who may have been searching for them for a long time.
1920
Adams, J. G. Letters on the Masonic Institution. 1847.
Anderson, Jas. Constitutions (1723). First edition. Reprint 1855.
Anderson, Jas. Constitutions (1738). Second edition. Reprint 1855.
Anderson, Jas. Constitutions, Revised by J. Entick. Third edition. 1756.
Anderson, Jas. Constitutions, Revised by J. Entick. Fourth edition. 1767.
Anderson, Jas. Constitutions, Revised by J. Nourthouck. Fifth edition. 1784.
Ashe, J. The Masonic Manual, Revised by Oliver. 1855.
Barratt, N. S., and Sachse, J. F. Freemasonry in Pennsylvania, 1727-1907. 1908.
Barruel. History of Jacobinism, etc. Four volumes.
Baxter, R. H. Suggestions for a Course of Masonic Reading. 1917.
Blake. The Realities of Masonry. 1879:
Begemann, W. Origin and Beginnings of Freemasonry in England. (German.) Three volumes.
Boyden, W. L. Classification of the Literature of Freemasonry. 1915.
Bromwell. Masonic Restorations.
BUILDER, THE. Volumes I, II, III, IV and V. 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918 and 1919.
Churchward, A. Signs and Symbols of Primordial Man. Second edition. 1913.
Churchward, A. Origin and Antiquity of Freemasonry. 1898.
Condor, E. The Records of the Hole Craft and Fellowship of Masons. 1894.
Crawley, C. Caementaria Hibernica. Three parts. 1895-1900.
Crook, A. Compilation and Digest. Grand Lodge of New York. 1911.
Cross, J. Masonic Chart. First, second, third or fourth edition.
Crowe, F. J. W. The Master Mason's Handbook. Fifth edition. 1915.
Crowe, F. J. W. Things a Freemason Should Know. 1909.
Dermott, L. Ahiman Rezon. First, second, third, fourth, fifth or sixth edition.
Dermott, L. Ahiman Rezon. First American edition. 1805.
Fellows, J. Exposition of the Mysteries of Ancient Egyptians, Pythagoreans, etc., and Freemasons. 1835.
Findel, J. G. History of Masonry. 1866.
Finlayson, J. F. Symbols and Legends of Freemasonry. 1889.
Fort, George F. Early History and Antiquities of Freemasonry. 1875.
Garrige, H. H. Egyptian Obelisks. 1882.
Gould, Robert Freke. History of Masonry. Six volumes. 1884-7.
Gould, Robert Freke. Concise History of Freemasonry. 1904.
Gould, Robert Freke. The Four Old Lodges.
Gould, Robert Freke. The Atholl Lodges.
Gould, Robert Freke. Military Lodges.
Grant, H. B. Some of the Ancient Landmarks. 1894.
Grant, M. R. True Principles of Freemasonry. 1916.
Halliwell, J. O. Early History of Freemasonry in England. 1840.
Hardie, J. New Freemasons' Monitor. First or second edition. 1818 or 1819.
Hughan and Stillson. History of Freemasonry and Concordant Orders. 1892.
Hughan, W. J. Masonic Sketches and Reprints. 1871-6.
Hughan, W. J. Constitutions of the Freemasons. 1869.
Hughan, W. J. The Old Charges of British Freemasons. Second edition. 1895.
Hughan, W. J. Origin of the English Rite of Freemasonry. New edition. 1909.
Hutchinson, W. The Spirit of Masonry. Revised by Oliver. 1855.
Johnson, M. M. Freemasonry in America Prior to 1750. 1916.
Josephus. Works of. Any good edition.
Lodge of Research No. 2429. Transactions.
Lyon, D. M. History of the Ancient Lodge of Edinburgh. First or second edition. 1873 or 1901.
Mackey, A. G. Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry. Latest edition.
Mackey, A. G. Manual of the Lodge. New edition. 1871.
Mackey, A. G. Lexicon of Freemasonry. 1845.
Mackey, A. G. Symbolism of Freemasonry. 1874.
Mackey, A. G. Masonic Jurisprudence.
Mackey, A. G. The Mystic Tie.
Mackey, A. G. Ahiman Rezon.
Mackey, A. G. Masonic Parliamentary Law.
Mackey and Singleton. History of Freemasonry. Seven Volumes. 1898.
Macoy, R. Obituary Rites of Freemasonry. 1868.
Macoy, R. General History, Cyclopaedia and Dictionary of Freemasonry. 1870.
Manchester Association for Masonic Research. Transactions Volume I, 1910, and subsequent volumes.
Moldeuke, C. E. The New York Obelisk. 1891.
Morris, R. William Morgan, or Political Anti-Masonry. 1883
Newton, Joseph Fort. The Builders. 1916.
Oliver, G. History of Freemasonry, 1829-1841. 1855.
Oliver, G. Dictionary of Symbolic Masonry. 1855.
Paine, T. Origin of Freemasonry. 1811.
Pennel, J. Constitutions - Irish. 1730. Reprint.
Pike, A. Morals and Dogma, with index. 1905.
Portal, F. Comparison of the Egyptian Symbols with those the Ancient Hebrews. Translation by Simons. 1904.
Pound, Roscoe. Philosophy of Masonry. 1915.
Preston, W. Illustrations of Masonry. 1855.
Quatuor Coronati Lodge No.'2076. Transactions. Volume I to XXX.
Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076. Reprints.
Ramsay. Revelations of Masonry.
Ravenscroft, W. The Comacines. 1910.
Ravenscroft, W. Further Notes on the Comacine Masters. 1918
Rebold, E. General History of Freemasonry in Europe. Translation by Brennan. 1867.
Roberts, J. Old Constitutions. 1720. Reprint.
Ross, P. A Standard History of Freemasonry in New York Two volumes. 1899.
Sachse, J. F. Old Masonic Lodges of Pennsylvania. Two volumes. 1912 - 1913.
Sadler, H. Masonic Facts and Fictions. 1889.
Sadler, H. Masonic Reprints and Revelations. 1898.
Scott, Leader. Cathedral Builders. 1899.
Speth, G. W. Course of Masonic Reading. 1899.
Steinbrenner, G. W. History of Masonry. 1864.
Stone, W. L. Letters of Masonry and Anti-Masonry. 1832.
Thomas, F. Etiquette of Freemasonry.
Town, Salem. Speculative Masonry. 1818.
Valette. Bicentenary of Freemasonry. 1918.
Waite, A. S. Secret Traditions in Masonry. Two volumes. 1912
Webb, Thomas Smith. Freemason's Monitor. Any edition, 179 to 1822.
Weisee, J. A. The Obelisk and Freemasonry. 1880.
Wilson, T. The Swastika. 1894.
Conferences of Grand Masters. Proceedings. NewYork. 1914
Conferences of Grand Masters. Proceedings. Cedar Rapid 1918.
Proceedings of Grand Lodge of which library owner is a member
Constitutions of Grand Lodge of which library owner is a member.
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THE "FOUR OLD LODGES" OF ENGLAND
Can you give me information concerning the "Four Old Lodges" which met in 1717 to form the Grand Lodge of Eng land? J. M. L., Wyoming.
The "Four Old Lodges" which united to form the Grand Lodge of England, as given by Gould in his larger "History of Freemasonry" are:
Original No. 1, which met at the Goose and Gridiron, in St. Paul's Churchyard, from 1717 until 1729, and removed in the latter year to the King's (or Queen's) Arins, in the same locality, where it remained for a long period. In 1760 it assumed the title of the "West India and American Lodge," which ten years later was altered to that of the "Lodge of Antiquity." In 1794 it absorbed the Harodim Lodge No. 467, a mushroom creation of the year 1760. At the Union, in 1813, the first position in the new roll having devolved by lot upon No. 1 of the "Atholl" lodges, it became, and has since remained, No. 2.
According to the Engraved List of 1729 this lodge was originally constituted in 1691. Thomas Morris and Josias Villeneau, both in their time Grand Wardens, were among the members - the former being the Master in 1723, and the latter in 1725. Benjamin Cole, the engraver, belonged to the Lodge in 1730; but with these three exceptions the names, so far as they are given in the official record, do not invite any remark until after Preston's election to the chair, when the members suddenly awoke to a sense of the dignity of the senior English lodge, and became gradually impressed with the importance of its traditions.... From Preston's time down to our own, the Lodge of Antiquity has maintained a high degree of preeminence, as well for its seniority of constitution, as for the celebrity of the names which have graced its roll of members. The Duke of Sussex was its Master for many years; and the lamented Duke of Albany in more recent days filled the chair throughout several elections.
Original No. 2 met at the Crown, Parker's Lane, in 1717, and was established at the Queen's Head, Turnstile, Holborn, in 1723 or earlier. Thence it moved in succession to the Green Lattice, Rose and Rummer, and Rose and Buffloe. In 1730 it met at the Bull and Gate, Holborn; and, appearing for the first time in the Engraved List for 1736, was struck off the roll at the renumbering in 1740. An application for its restoration was made in 1762, but, on the ground that none of the petitioners had ever been members of the lodge, it was rejected. According to the Engraved List for 1729, the lodge was constituted in 1712.
Original No. 3, which met at the Apple Tree Tavern, in Charles Street, Covent Garden, in 1717, moved to the Queen's Head, Knave's Acre, in 1723 or earlier; and after several intermediate changes - including a stay of many years at the Fish and Bell, Charles Street, Soho Square - appears to have settled down, under the title of the Lodge of Fortitude, at the Roebuct Oxford Street, from 1768 until 1793. In 1818 it amalgamated with the Old Cumberland Lodge - constituted 1753 - and is now the Fortitude and Old Cumberland Lodge, No. 12.
Dr. Anderson informs us that, after the removal of this lodge to the Queen's Head, upon some difference, the members that met there came under a New Constitution (in 1723) "tho' they wanted it not"; and accordingly, when the lodges were arranged in order of seniority in 1729, Original No. 3, instead of being placed as one of the Four at the head of the roll found itself relegated by the Committee of Precedence to the eleventh number on the list. This appears to have taken the members by surprise - as well it might, considering that the last time the Four were all represented at Grand Lodge - April 19, 1727 - before the scale of precedence was adjusted in conformity with the New Regulations enacted for that purpose, their respective Masters and Wardens answered to their names in the same seniority as we find to have prevailed when the "Book of Constitutions" was approved by the representatives of lodges in 1723. But although the officers of No. 11 "represented that their lodge was misplaced in the printed book, whereby they lost their rank, and humbly prayed that the said mistake might be regulated" - "the said complaint was dismissed." It is probable that this petition would have experienced a very different fate had the three senior lodges been represented on the Committee of Precedence.
As Original No. 2 - also so numbered in 1729 - "dropt out" about 1736, the lodges immediately below it each went up a step in 1740; and Original No. 3 moved from the eleventh to the tenth place on the list. If the minutes of the Committee of Charity covering that period were extant, we should find, I think, a renewed protest by the subject of this sketch against its supersession, for one was certainly made at the next renumbering in 1756 - and not altogether without success, as will be seen by the following extract from the minute book of one of the lodges above it on the list:
July 22 1755. - "Letter being (read) from the Grand Secy: Citing us to appear at the Committee of Charity to answer the Fish and Bell Lodge (No. 10) to their demand of being placed prior to us, viz. in No. 3. Whereon our Rt Worsl Masr attended & the Question being propos'd was answer'd against (it) by with Spirit and Resolution well worthy the Character he assum'd and being put to Ballot was cared in favour of us. Report being made this night of the said proceedings thanks was Return'd him and his health drank with hearty Zeal by the Lodge present."
But although defeated in this instance, the officers appear to have satisfied the committee that their lodge was entitled to higher number than would fall to it in the ordinary course, from two of its seniors having "dropt out" since the revision of 1740. Instead, therefore, of becoming No. 8, we find that it passed over the heads of the two Lodges immediately above it, and appeared in the sixth place on the list for 1756; whilst the Lodges thus superseded by the No. 10 of 1755, themselves changed their relative positions in the list for 1756, with the result that Nos. 8, and 9 and 10 in the former list severally became 8, 7, and 6 in the latter, - or to express it in another way, Nos. 8 and 10 of 1755 change places in 1756.
Elsewhere I have observed: "The supersession of Original No. 3 by eight junior Lodges in 1729, together with its partial restoration of rank in 1756, has introduced so much confusion into the history of this Lodge, that for upwards of a century its identity with the 'old Lodge,' which met at the Apple Tree Tavern in 1717, appears to have been wholly lost sight of."
The age of this lodge cannot be even approximately determined. It occupied the second place in the Engraved Lists 1723 and 1725, and probably continued to do so until 1728. The position of the lodge in 1729 must have been wholly determined by the date of its warrant, and therefore affords no clue to its actual seniority. It is quite impossible to say whether it established earlier or later than original No. 2 (1712), nor pace Preston can we be altogether sure - if we assume the precedency in such matters to be regulated by dates of formation - that Fortitude and Old Cumberland Lodge would be justified in yielding the pas, even to the Lodge of Antiquity itself.
Alluding to the meeting at the Goose and Gridiron Alehouse, on St. John the Baptist's day, 1717, Findel observes, "This day is celebrated by all German Lodges as the day of anniversity of the Society of Freemasons. It is the high-noon of the year, the day of light and roses, and it ought to be celebrated everywhere."
It seems to me, however, that not only is this remarkable incident in the history of the Lodge of Antiquity worthy of annual commemoration but that the services of the Fortitute and Old Cumberland Lodge, in connection with what may termed the most momentous event in the history of the Craft are at least entitled to a similar distinction. The first Grand Master, it is true, was elected and installed at the Goose Gridiron, under the banner of the Old Lodge there, but the first Grand Lodge was formed and constituted at the Apple Tree under similar auspices. Also, we must not forget, that the lo at the latter tavern supplied the Grand Master-Sayer who was elected and installed in the former.
Original No. 4 met at the Rummer and Grapes Tavern, Channel Row, Westminster, in 1717, and its representatives - George Payne, Master, Stephen Hall and Francis Sorell, Wardens - joined with those of nineteen other lodges, in subscribing the "Approbation" of the Constitutions in January, 1723. The date of its removal to the tavern with which it became so long associated, and whose name it adopted, is uncertain. It is shown at the "Horn" in the earliest of the Engraved Lists, ostensibly of the year 1723, but there are grounds for believing that this appeared towards the close of the period embraced by the Grand Mastership of the Earl of Dalkeith, which would render it of later date than the following extract from a newspaper of the period:
"There was a great Lodge of the ancient Society of the Free Masons held last week at the Horn Tavern, in Palace Yard, at which were present the Earl of Dalkeith, their Grand Master, the Deputy Grand Master, the Duke of Richmond, and several other persons of quality, at which time, the Lord Carmichael, Col. Carpenter, Sir Thomas Prendergast, Col. Paget, and Col. Saunderson, were accepted Free Masons, and went home in their Leather Aprons and Gloves."
The names of these five initiates, two of whom were afterwards Grand Wardens, are shown in the earliest list of members furnished by the Lodge at the "Horn" - in conformity with the order of Grand Lodge. From this we learn that in 1724 the Duke of Richmond was the Master, and George Payne the Deputy Master, whilst Alexander Hardine and Alexander Choke were the Wardens. The character of the lodge has been already glanced at, but the names of its members during the years 1724 and 1725, will be given in full in the Appendix to which therefore it will be unnecessary to do more than refer. Among the private members were Desaguliers and Anderson, neither of whom in the years 1724-25 held office in the lodge. Unfortunately, the page allotted to Original No. 4 - or No. 3 as it became from 1729 - in the Grand Lodge Register for 1730, is a blank, and after that year there is no list to consult for nearly half a century; when we again meet with one in the official records, where the names of the then members are headed by that of Thomas Dunckerley "a member from 1768."
Alexander Hardine was the Master in 1725, the office becoming vacant by the Duke of Richmond's election as Grand Master. There is hide doubt, however - to use the quanit language of "Old Regulation XVII." - by virtue of which the Duke was debarred from continuing in the chair of the "Horn Lodge," whilst at the head of the Craft - that "as soon as he had honourably discharged his Grand Office, he returned to that Post or Station in his particular Lodge, from which he was call'd to officiate above." At all events he was back there in 1729, for on July 11 of that year, the Deputy Grand Master (Blackerly) informed Grand Lodge, by desire of the "Duke of Richmond, Master of the Horn Lodge," as an excuse for the members not having brought charity, like those of the other lodges, that they "were, for the most part, persons of Quality, and Members of Parliament," and therefore out of town at that season of the year. The Duke was very attentive to his duties in the lodge. He was in the chair at the initiation of the Earl of Sunderland, on January 2, 1730, on which occasion there were present the Grand Master, Lord Kingston, the Grand Master elect, the Duke of Norfolk, together with the Duke of Montagu, Lords Dalkeith, Delvin, Inchiquin, and other persons of distinction.
Later in the same year, he presided over another important meeting, when many foreign noblemen, and also William Cowper (D.G.M., 1726), were admitted members, and was supported by the Grand Master (Duke of Norfolk), the Deputy (Blackerly), Lord Mordaunt, and the Marquesses of Beaumont and Du Quesne. The Duke of Richmond resigned the Mastership in April, 1738, and Nathaniel Blackerly was unanimously chosen to fill his place. Original No. 4 was given the third place in the Engraved List for 1729, and in 1740 became No. 2 - which number it retained till the Union.
On April 3, 1747, it was erased from the list, for non-attendance at the Quarterly Communications, but was restored to its place September 4, 1751. According to the official records - "Bro. Lediard informed the Brethren that the Right Worshipful Bro. Payne, L. G. M., and several other members of the Lodge lately held at the Horn, Palace Yard, Westminster, had been very successful in their endeavours to serve the said Lodge, and that they were ready to pay 2 guineas to the use of the Grand Charity, and therefore moved that out of respect to Bro. Payne and the several other L.G.M. (late Grand Masters) who were members thereof, the Said Lodge might be restored and have its former rank and Place in the Lists of Lodges - which was ordered accordingly." Earl Ferrers was master of the "Horn Lodge" when elected Grand Master of the Society in 1762.
On February 16, 1766, at an "Occasional" Lodge, held at the Horn Tavern, the Grand Master, Lord Blayney, presiding, His Royal Highness, William Henry, Duke of Gloucester, "was made an entered apprentice, passed a fellow craft, and raised to the degree of a Master Mason."
This Prince, and his two brothers, the Duke of York and Cumberland, eventually became members of the "New Lodge at the Horn," No. 313, the name of which, out of compliment to them, was changed to that of the "Royal Lodge." At the period, however, of the Duke of Gloucester's admission into the Society (1766), there were two lodges meeting at the Horn Tavern. The "Old" Lodge, the subject of the present sketch, and the "New" Lodge, No. 313, constituted April 4, 1764. The Duke was initiated in neither, but in an "Occasional" Lodge, at which, for all we know to the contrary, members of both may have been present. But at whatever date the decadence of the "Old Horn Lodge" may be said to have first set in, whether directly after the formation of a new lodge at the same tavern, or later, it reached its culminating point about the time when the Duke of Cumberland, following the example of his two brothers, became an honourary member of No. 313. This occurred March 4, 1767, and on April 1 of the same year, the Dukes of Gloucester and Cumberland attended a meeting of the junior Lodge, and the latter was installed its W. M., an office he also held in later years.
The Engraved List for 1767 shows the "Old Horn Lodge" to have removed from the tavern of that name to the Fleece, Tothill Street, Westminster. Thence, in 1772, it migrated to the King's Arms, also in Westminster, and on January 10, 1774, "finding themselves in a declining state, the members agreed to incorporate with a new and flourishing lodge, entitled the Somerset House Lodge, which immediately assumed their rank." So far Preston, in the editions of his famous "Illustrations," published after the schism was healed, of which the privileges of the Lodge of Antiquity had been the origin. But in those published whilst the schism lasted (1779-89), he tells us, that "the members of this Lodge tacitly agreed to a renunciation of their rights as one of the four original Lodges by openly avowing a declaration of their Master in Grand Lodge. They put themselves entirely under the authority of Grand Lodge; claimed no distinct privilege, by virtue of an Immemorial Constitution, but precedency of rank, and considered themselves subject to every law or regulation of the Grand Lodge, over whom they could admit of no control, and to whose determination they and every Lodge were bound to submit."
The value, indeed, of this evidence, is much impaired - and must appear so, even to those by whom Preston's veracity is regarded as beyond suspicion - by the necessity of reconciling with it the remarks of the same writer after 1790, when he speaks of me the two old lodges then extant, acting by immemorial constitution.
But the status of the junior of these lodges stood in no need of restoration at the hands of Preston, or of any other person or body. In all the official lists, published after its amalgamation with a lodge lower down on the roll, from 1775 to the present year, the words "Time Immemorial" in lieu of a date, are placed opposite its printed title. Nor is there any entry in the minutes of Grand Lodge, which will bear out the assertion that at the fusion of the two lodges there was any sacrifice of independence on the part of the senior. The junior of the parties to this alliance - in 1774, the Somerset House Lodge, No. 219 - was originally constituted May 22, 1762, and is described in the Engraved List for 1763 as "On Board H. M. Ship the 'Prince,' at Plymouth"; in 1764-66 as "On Board H. M. Ship the 'Guadaloupe"'; and in 1767-73 as "the Sommerset House Lodge (No. 219 on the numeration of 1770-80) at ye King's Arms, New Bond Street."
Thomas Dunckerley (of whom more hereafter), a natural son of George II., was initiated into Masonry, January 10, 1754, whilst in the naval service, in which he attained the rank of gunner; and his duties afloat seem to have come to an end at about the same date on which the old "Sea Lodge" in the "Prince" and lastly in the "Guadaloupe," was removed to London and christened the "Somerset House," and most probably by way of compliment to Dunckerley himself, being the name of the place of residence where quarters were first of all assigned to him on his coming to the Metropolis. In 1767 the king ordered him a pension of 100 pounds a year, which was afterwards increased to 800 pounds, with a suite of apartments in Hampton Court Palace.
The official records merely inform us that Dunckerley was a member of the Somerset House Lodge after the fusion, and that he had been a member of one or both of them from 1768, beyond which year the Grand Lodge Register does not extend, except longo intervallo, viz., at the returns for 1730, a gap already noticed, and which it is as impossible to bridge over from one end as the other.
After Dunckerley's we meet with the names of Lord Gormanstone, Sir Joseph Bankes, Viscount Hampden, Rowland Berkeley, James Heseltine, and Rowland Holt, and later still of Admiral Sir Peter Parker, Deputy Grand Master. In 1828 the Lodge again resorted to amalgamation, and absorbed the "Royal Inverness" Lodge, No. 648. The latter was virtually a military Lodge, having been formed by the officers of the Royal North British Volunteer Corps, of which the Duke of Sussex (Earl of Inverness) was the commander. Among the members of the "Royal Inverness" Lodge were Sir Augustus D'Este, son of the Duke of Sussex; Lord William Pitt Lennox; Charles Matthews the elder, "comedian"; Laurence Thompson, "painter," the noted preceptor; and in the Grand Lodge Register, under the date of May 5, 1825, is the following entry, - "Charles James Matthews, Architect, Ivy Cottage, aged 24."
The "old Lodge at the Horn," which we have traced through so many vicissitudes - for reasons already given in the sketch of the Lodge of Antiquity - dropped from the second to the fourth place on the roll at the union; and in 1828 assumed the title of the "Royal Somerset House and Inverness Lodge," by which it is still described in the list. It is a subject for regret that no history of this renowned Lodge has been compiled. The early minutes, I am informed, are missing, but the materials for a descriptive account of a Lodge associated with such brilliant memories still exist, although there May be some slight trouble in searching for them. Among the Masonic jottings in the early newspapers, and the waifs and strays at Freemasons' Hall, will be found a great many allusions to this ancient Lodge. Of these, examples are afforded in the sketch now brought to a close, which is mainly based on those sources of information.
CORRESPONDENCE
TWO SHRINE HISTORIES
The Imperial Council, at its last session held at Indianapolis, approved and ordered printed for general sale and distribution, an official history of the Mystic Shrine. Full details may be obtained from Recorder B. W. Rewell, Masonic Temple, Boston, Mass. J. Harry Lewis, Minnesota.
A history of the Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine was published in 1916. Particulars may be obtained concerning this work from George L. Root, San Antonio, Texas.
Wm. L. Boyden, District of Columbia.
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PROCEEDINGS OF QUATUOR CORONATI LODGE WANTED
I have a complete file of the Transactions of Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076, London, except volumes 1, 3, 6, 7 and 8.
I would be very glad to procure these volumes, bound or unhound. Wm. F. Bowe, Augusta, Georgia.
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THE TOMB OF HIRAM, KING OF TYRE
In connection with the article "The Tomb of Hiram, King of Tyre," which appeared on page 5 of the Correspondence Circle Bulletin section of the November number of THE BUILDER, I am sending you a clipping on the subject from a recent copy of the NEW YORK TIMES which will doubtless be of interest to our members. It is signed by Chayim Tobin, and reads as follows:
KING HIRAM'S TOMB
"Now that the horrors of war are over, the interest of all Jews, Gentiles, and Freemasons should be roused when they learn of the proposed expedition that has for its object the excavation of the site of the Tomb of Hiram King of Tyre, that has been partly ruined by the Tyrians. For now that the day of the Turk has passed, that of the Bible student and the archaeologist has dawned.
"British soldiers occupy Jerusalem who are unlocking the secrets of Christianity, which also opens the gates to El Sur or Tyre, that can now be scientifically explored. This is well worth while, for beneath its soil are remains of valuable prehistoric records. Close to the city the mills are still running that cut the cedars of Lebanon for the house of Solomon, while about two hours' ride to the southeast of Tyre are the remains of the tomb, in fairly good condition, called by the natives 'Aber Hiram,' that contains, it is said, the ashes of Hiram King of Tyre (II. Chronicles, II., 3-11.) The excavation of the site may throw light on the history of one of the first three Grand Masters of the Craft of Freemasons.
"It is hoped that 'masons' marks' may be found in the cornerstone of the tomb with other important links in the historic chain that connects the craft with the builders of King Solomon's Temple a thousand years before the Christian era. Therefore the brethren should be personally interested in the excavation of the Tomb of Hiram King of Tyre, as well as Bible students who will find a new field opened to them."
A. J. Audett, New York.
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A NEED FOR THE RIGHT KIND OF LEADERSHIP
Like many others I am yet in the "Northeast Corner," although according to custom I have been "raised" beyond that mark, and I feel the need of Masonic study and research. Yet there does not seem to be a kindred feeling among those whose Masonic positions should cause them to step forth and lead the many like myself. I wish these local units (study groups) of the Society could be so organized that there would be a general movement to create and build.
Victor E. Vieira, Idaho.
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A FREEMASON FOR 72 YEARS - IS THIS THE RECORD?
The Masonic Veteran Association of the District of Columbia has on its rolls the Rev. William W. Curry, born at Louisville, Ky., Feb. 15,1824, and now in his 96th year. Brother Curry was initiated into Masonry in Madisonville Lodge No. 143, Madisonville, Ky., August 9, 1847, and has therefore been a Freemason more than 72 years.
This Association is desirous of ascertaining whether any member of the Craft now living has a longer record than Brother Curry, who was Chaplain of the 53rd Indiana Regiment during the Civil War. L. D. Carman, District of Columbia.
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THE HEARTNESS AND THE SMILE
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BY BRO. L. B. MITCHELL, MICHIGAN
I left it to my heart to find the place
In some fair realm, some boundary untraced,-
Some place where thought had never left a mar,-
Some place beneath an unexploited star
Where free from all the cobwebs and the snares
Adown the ways of human thoroughfares
The truth might gleam from nature's heart to mine
First handed in its clarity sublime
That I might find, unhindered and alone
The heart of things, - the secrets all her own,
Realities of rare intrinsic worth
As measured by the values of the earth,-
The things that faith alone cannot beguile,-
The heartness that gives to the soul its smile.
