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Article THE ENGLISH RITE OF FREEMASONRY. Page 1 of 2 Article THE ENGLISH RITE OF FREEMASONRY. Page 1 of 2 →
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The English Rite Of Freemasonry.
THE ENGLISH RITE OF FREEMASONRY .
( Continued from page 196 . ) HAVING completed his " Investigations on the Third Degree , " Bro . Hughan turns his attention to the " Premonitions of the Schism , " which for the beat part of three-quarters of a century held English Freemasonry divided into two hostile camps , and if his labours in this direction have not been attended with the same
measure of success as his earlier studies in the same volume , it is not his fault . The materials at his disposal , unless they were wholly conspicuous by their absence , could scarcely have been more meagre . Those who have devoted any time and thought to the study of our history
during the first half of the eighteenth century are aware that the question which is veiled in the deepest obscurity is that of the origin of the Schism . We know that shortly after 1750 the organisation established iu London in 1717 was a house divided against itself . There were two Grand
Lodges where there had only been one . We also know there was no break in the continuity of the existence of the 1717 Grand Lodge , the Communications of which were held regulai'ly year by year under a succession of regalarly-appointed Grand Masters , without anything
approximating to what the annotators of an old Greek play would describe as an hiatus valde deflendus . Of a sudden we find that in 1753 there was a second Grand Lodge , which arrogated to itself the title of " Ancient" in contradistiction from the old and regular Grand Lodge of
1717 , on which it contemptuously bestowed the epithet of "Modern . " Previously the Lodges composing this new Grand Lodge had been governed by a Grand Committee , the earliest existing record of whose proceedings dates from 17 th July 1751 , when a General Assembly of Ancient
Masons was held at the Turk ' s Head Tavern , in Greekstreet , Soho , and the Masters of Nos . 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , and 7—now Nos . 3 , 5 , 7 , 9 , 11 , and 13 respectively—were authorised to grant dispensations and warrants and act conjointly as Grand Master . Bnt inst as it is very
certain that the Four Old Lodges which met together in 1717 and established the Grand Lodge of England did not spring into existence already organised as such , after the manner of Minerva , in the Greek myth , who emerged into being fnlly armed from the brain of Jupiter , so it must be
equally obvious that the Ancient Lodges just enumerated must have constituted themselves , or been constituted , some time anterior to the aforesaid General Assembly held in 1751 . To trace out the origin of these Lodges and establish , if possible , the cause of their separation from the
parent Grand Lodge—if , indeed , they had ever been connected with it and paid it allegiance—is the task which occupies Bro . Hughan in the Third Chapter of his new Work . He has not , however , succeeded in unravelling the Mystery because , as we have said already , there were not
& t his disposal the requisite means for success . What he has done is to submit in regular sequent form the few authentic references which yet remain to ns to the internal differences which must have prevailed in the original
yrand Lodge for several years before 1751 , in which year , " not earlier , they culminated in an open declaration of ^ ar against the " regular" Masons . Let us see what these references are which Bro . Hughan has collated .
The English Rite Of Freemasonry.
Whence originated the difficulties which led to the Schism , whether they arose out of changes in the Ritual , from changes in the government or organisation of the Craft , or from the introduction of degrees additional to those of pure Craft Masonry , all these matters still remain
undetermined . Bro . Hughan considers it " may safely be taken for granted " that " attempts were made to tamper with the Ritual prior to 1740 . " Then we read " Some suppose that the desire for more degrees and different ceremonies originated in France . Probably such was the
case . At all events the English brethren did not long rest content with the simple rite of three degrees , added to which there were also other influences at work , in consequence of the broader basis of constitution initiated by the ' Revivalists . '" Bro . Hughan also quotes from a series
of articles which appeared in the Freemason many years since , the author of which appears to have ascribed the difficulties which beset our original Grand Lodge so soon after its formation as being due to the fact " that the opposition party was mainly composed of operative Masons ,
who regarded -with distrust and uneasiness the transformation of the ancient handicraft society into an association for the cultivation of speculative science , " in evidence of which it is pointed out that " On Dr . Desaguliers , F . R . S ., being nominated as Deputy Grand Master by the Earl of
Dalkeith , 24 th Juno 1723 , forty-two voted against , and only forty-three for the appointment ; and on the 25 th of November of the same year , a member of the Lodge held at the ' King's Head' was expelled ' for laying several aspersions against the D . G . M . which he could not make
good . '" The following year more stringent regulations were passed " for the due constitution of regularly warranted lodges . " In December 1730 , in consequence of the publication of Prichard's pamphlet , Deputy G . Master Blackerby proposed , with a view to preventing Lodges
being imposed upon by false brethren , that until otherwise ordered by Grand Lodge , " No person -whatsoever should be admitted into lodges unless some member of the lodge , then present , would vouch for such visiting brother ' s being a regular Mason , and the ' member ' s name to be
entered against the visitor s name in the Lodge Book . " It is further in evidence that in 1730 P . G . Master Sayer was charged in Grand Lodge with having taken part in the proceedings of a clandestine lodge , and though he was acquitted , he was admonished , almost in the terms of the
celebrated verdict of the Welsh jury , " to do nothing so irregular in the future . " In 1735 the Grand Master referred to the " grievance of making extraneous Masons in a private and clandestine manner upon small and unworthy considerations , " and in December of the same year the
constitution of the Grand Stewards' Lodge , with peculiar privileges , evoked a storm of indignation , a petition signed by the Masters of several Lodges against such privileges being presented and read , "When the appellants were heard at large , and the question being put whether the
determination of the last Quarterly Communication relating to the matter should be confirmed or not . In the course of collecting the votes on this occasion there appeared so much confusion that it was not possible for the Grand Officers to determine with any certainty what the
numbers on either side of the question were , they were , therefore , obliged to dismiss the debate and close the Lodge . " Twice in the year 1739 , on 12 th June and 12 th December , comp laints were made about the " irregular making of Masons , " and on the last occasion , though the
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The English Rite Of Freemasonry.
THE ENGLISH RITE OF FREEMASONRY .
( Continued from page 196 . ) HAVING completed his " Investigations on the Third Degree , " Bro . Hughan turns his attention to the " Premonitions of the Schism , " which for the beat part of three-quarters of a century held English Freemasonry divided into two hostile camps , and if his labours in this direction have not been attended with the same
measure of success as his earlier studies in the same volume , it is not his fault . The materials at his disposal , unless they were wholly conspicuous by their absence , could scarcely have been more meagre . Those who have devoted any time and thought to the study of our history
during the first half of the eighteenth century are aware that the question which is veiled in the deepest obscurity is that of the origin of the Schism . We know that shortly after 1750 the organisation established iu London in 1717 was a house divided against itself . There were two Grand
Lodges where there had only been one . We also know there was no break in the continuity of the existence of the 1717 Grand Lodge , the Communications of which were held regulai'ly year by year under a succession of regalarly-appointed Grand Masters , without anything
approximating to what the annotators of an old Greek play would describe as an hiatus valde deflendus . Of a sudden we find that in 1753 there was a second Grand Lodge , which arrogated to itself the title of " Ancient" in contradistiction from the old and regular Grand Lodge of
1717 , on which it contemptuously bestowed the epithet of "Modern . " Previously the Lodges composing this new Grand Lodge had been governed by a Grand Committee , the earliest existing record of whose proceedings dates from 17 th July 1751 , when a General Assembly of Ancient
Masons was held at the Turk ' s Head Tavern , in Greekstreet , Soho , and the Masters of Nos . 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , and 7—now Nos . 3 , 5 , 7 , 9 , 11 , and 13 respectively—were authorised to grant dispensations and warrants and act conjointly as Grand Master . Bnt inst as it is very
certain that the Four Old Lodges which met together in 1717 and established the Grand Lodge of England did not spring into existence already organised as such , after the manner of Minerva , in the Greek myth , who emerged into being fnlly armed from the brain of Jupiter , so it must be
equally obvious that the Ancient Lodges just enumerated must have constituted themselves , or been constituted , some time anterior to the aforesaid General Assembly held in 1751 . To trace out the origin of these Lodges and establish , if possible , the cause of their separation from the
parent Grand Lodge—if , indeed , they had ever been connected with it and paid it allegiance—is the task which occupies Bro . Hughan in the Third Chapter of his new Work . He has not , however , succeeded in unravelling the Mystery because , as we have said already , there were not
& t his disposal the requisite means for success . What he has done is to submit in regular sequent form the few authentic references which yet remain to ns to the internal differences which must have prevailed in the original
yrand Lodge for several years before 1751 , in which year , " not earlier , they culminated in an open declaration of ^ ar against the " regular" Masons . Let us see what these references are which Bro . Hughan has collated .
The English Rite Of Freemasonry.
Whence originated the difficulties which led to the Schism , whether they arose out of changes in the Ritual , from changes in the government or organisation of the Craft , or from the introduction of degrees additional to those of pure Craft Masonry , all these matters still remain
undetermined . Bro . Hughan considers it " may safely be taken for granted " that " attempts were made to tamper with the Ritual prior to 1740 . " Then we read " Some suppose that the desire for more degrees and different ceremonies originated in France . Probably such was the
case . At all events the English brethren did not long rest content with the simple rite of three degrees , added to which there were also other influences at work , in consequence of the broader basis of constitution initiated by the ' Revivalists . '" Bro . Hughan also quotes from a series
of articles which appeared in the Freemason many years since , the author of which appears to have ascribed the difficulties which beset our original Grand Lodge so soon after its formation as being due to the fact " that the opposition party was mainly composed of operative Masons ,
who regarded -with distrust and uneasiness the transformation of the ancient handicraft society into an association for the cultivation of speculative science , " in evidence of which it is pointed out that " On Dr . Desaguliers , F . R . S ., being nominated as Deputy Grand Master by the Earl of
Dalkeith , 24 th Juno 1723 , forty-two voted against , and only forty-three for the appointment ; and on the 25 th of November of the same year , a member of the Lodge held at the ' King's Head' was expelled ' for laying several aspersions against the D . G . M . which he could not make
good . '" The following year more stringent regulations were passed " for the due constitution of regularly warranted lodges . " In December 1730 , in consequence of the publication of Prichard's pamphlet , Deputy G . Master Blackerby proposed , with a view to preventing Lodges
being imposed upon by false brethren , that until otherwise ordered by Grand Lodge , " No person -whatsoever should be admitted into lodges unless some member of the lodge , then present , would vouch for such visiting brother ' s being a regular Mason , and the ' member ' s name to be
entered against the visitor s name in the Lodge Book . " It is further in evidence that in 1730 P . G . Master Sayer was charged in Grand Lodge with having taken part in the proceedings of a clandestine lodge , and though he was acquitted , he was admonished , almost in the terms of the
celebrated verdict of the Welsh jury , " to do nothing so irregular in the future . " In 1735 the Grand Master referred to the " grievance of making extraneous Masons in a private and clandestine manner upon small and unworthy considerations , " and in December of the same year the
constitution of the Grand Stewards' Lodge , with peculiar privileges , evoked a storm of indignation , a petition signed by the Masters of several Lodges against such privileges being presented and read , "When the appellants were heard at large , and the question being put whether the
determination of the last Quarterly Communication relating to the matter should be confirmed or not . In the course of collecting the votes on this occasion there appeared so much confusion that it was not possible for the Grand Officers to determine with any certainty what the
numbers on either side of the question were , they were , therefore , obliged to dismiss the debate and close the Lodge . " Twice in the year 1739 , on 12 th June and 12 th December , comp laints were made about the " irregular making of Masons , " and on the last occasion , though the