So-Called " Cryptic Masonry."

Archives with useless verbiage and waste letterpress ; and I trust , in acting thus , I shall not be deemed guilty o : neglect or indolence by your illustrious body . ( Signed ) VINCENT W . BATE , Chairman .

Bro . Bate then continued with the following address or report : — " The Degrees of Royal Select and Super Excellent Master , as conferred under authority of tho Grand Council

of tho State of New York , derive their origin from authority of Frederick II ., King of Prussia , who was in 1761 Most Puissant Sovereign , Grand Commander of the 33 rd Degree at Berlin , where the Supreme Grand East of the Ineffable Degrees was then held .

" { The Ineffable Degrees are those conferred in the Lodge of Perfection , eleven in number , and in which were formerly conferred several Detached or Side degrees , among them the degrees of Royal Master , Select Master , Grand

Patriarch , Most Excellent Master , and Super-Excellent Master . These degrees ( Ancient and Accepted Rite ) were introduced into this country by Henry S . Franker , who emigrated from France , having been there appointed a

Deputy Inspector-General of the 33 rd degree by Bro Stephen Morin , who , in 1761 , was constituted in Paris a Sovereign Grand Inspector General by the Grand

Consistory ( or Grand Council ) of the 33 rd degree , held by order of Frederick , King of Prussia , from Berlin , the then seat of tbe Supreme Grand East .

" Under Bro . Franker s auspices these degrees were introduced into New York , Massachusetts , and Rhode Island . The Detached degrees , however , were never cultivated to any great extent in these States , but the Royal

and Select Degrees were very extensively promulgated at the South , under the auspices of the Southern Jurisdiction , or Supreme Grand Council of the 33 rd degree , at Charleston , S . C ., from 1782 ; the Northern Jurisdiction being stationed in New York City .

" The Northern Jurisdiction did not cultivate the

Detached degrees , and hence it was that , in 1807 , Franker having been dead several years , Bro . Joseph Cerneau Deputy Inspector General 33 rd degree and a member of Washington Lodge , No . 85 , conferred the degree of the

Royal Master upon several brethren in New York , and by his authority , derived from the Grand Consistory of France , formed in September of that year the Council of Royal Master Masons of the City of New York , and

installed Companion Thomas Lownds as first Grand Royal Master . No mention is made of the Select Masters ' degree until 2 nd December 1821 , when a communication was received from ' the Council of Select Masters , '

informing them that they are willing to be united and come into the Council of Royal Masters . The question being taken , it was unanimously agreed that we accept the proposal , and Resolved—That the fees for the degree of Select Master be two dollars .

" The Council of Select Masters of New York whose members were healed and came into the Council of Royal Masters , under one jurisdiction , owed its origin to Philip

Eckels and Hezekiah Niles , of Baltimore , Maryland , who received their authority , primarily , from the representative or representatives of the Grand Consistory at Berlin , and was established in the City of New York in 1820 .

" The records of the Grand Council of Royal Masters of New York , 2 nd September 1810 , say : This Grand Council , by resolution , granted a warrant to Columbian Council , No . 1 , for the City of New York , Comp . Thomas Lownds ,

thrice Illustrious Royal Master , John E . Buckel Deputy Illustrious Royal Master , William Craig Illustrious Royal Warden . From this date to 1821 that of Royal Master was the only regular degree conferred , for which the fee of

five dollars was charged . There were , however , Detached Degrees conferred , viz ., 'Knights of the Round Table , ' the ' Illustrious and Invincible Order of the Knights of the Garter , ' and ' Knights of St . George of Cappadocia . '

Upon the assumption of the Select Degree by the Grand Council the Detached Degrees were never again mentioned , they seem to have fallen into immediate disuse , and not until 1842 , under Comp . Richard Ellis as Grand Master

was the Super Excellent Degree very frequently conferred , and then as a Detached or Honorary Degree , which practice has prevailed ever since , both in New York and in

Massachusetts . Although an attempt has been made twice to raise the fee to ten dollars , no more than five dollars have ever been paid for the Council Degrees . " The above is followed with extracts from the records of

So-Called " Cryptic Masonry."

the Council beginning 2 nd Sept . 1810 , and here are some items from the said record : — Dec . 5 th , 1810 . " Resolved , that the Knights of the Round Table meet on tho 10 th day of the present month Kislen [ meant I suppose for Kislev ] . Dec . 7 th . " A Council of the Knights of the Round

Table was opened by the Illustrious Abott Lownds . [ Abbott was the title of the chief officer . ] March 4 th , 1811 . "A Chapter of the Knights of the Honourable Order of the Garter was opened by the Grand Prelate Lownds .

Novr . 3 rd . " A Chapter of Knights of the Garter held . Year of the Order 454 . ( The general opinion is that the Or 5 er of the Garter was

created in 1349 . Our New York Gartered Knights must therefore have been informed by " Masonic tradition" that it Avas not established by G . M . Edward 3 rd before 1357 . Hence , in 1811 , it was just 454 years old . ) Novr . 10 th , 1811 . " A Chapter of the Illustrious and Invincible Order of Knights of the Garter was opened .

The following Companions were installed Knights of the Order of St . George of Cappadocia , & c . & c .

June 21 , 1812 . " More than two candidates shall not be received at the same time in any Council , as there were but two Grand Masters when H . A . B . was" ( here the remainder is obliterated by age ) .

I have another compilation of extracts from the same record , from 1810 to 30 th January 1823 , containing additional items , such as the names of the illustrious noodles who were dubbed Knights of the various Orders above

mentioned . On 3 rd of April 1818 , I find that over thirty of these were dubbed Knights of the Round Table , and 21 st April 1818 nine of them were Round Tabled , and that is the last time that knight dubbing is mentioned in the

pamphlet . But I also found that the first time a " Super Excellent " Lodge was opened was on 29 th December 1817 , when three brethren were made Super Excellents , for which each paid a dollar . On 31 st March 1818 , 21 st August 1818 , 31 st March 1819 , 19 th March 1821 ,

8 th April 1821 , and 6 th September 1821—on the above dates seventeen were Super Excellentified . I have also a compilation of the Proceedings of the Grand Council from its organisation , on 25 th January 1823 ,

containing the Constitution , & c . Up to that time any Master Mason could be Royalled , but the new Code required that the degrees should be conferred only on those

who , in addition to the Masters degree , had also received the degrees of Mark Master , Excellent Master , Most Excellent Master , and Royal Arch .

In 1842 it was passed that the words " Super Excellent Master Mason " be inserted in the Warrant of Columbian

Council , No . 1 , after the words Select Master , and that the same power to confer the Super Excellent degree be extended to all Councils . In 1846 , Columbian Council , No . 1 , was directed to

confer the degrees in the following order—1 st Super Excellent , 2 nd Royal Master , and 3 rd Select Master . This arrangement was not universally followed , for in the Proceedings of the same Grand Council of 1868 I find the following complaint , viz . : —

" It will be observed by the title of the Grand Council of Massachusetts that it classifies the Cryptic degrees in a manner entirely different from any other Grand Council in the United States . . . . This classification reminds us

of the dilemma a certain individual was once placed in who put the cart before the horse , and certainly has the appearance of being taken from a system of tactics teaching the movement of ' advancing backwards . ' "

The truth , however , seems to be that neither the Cryptic luminaries of New York nor of Massachusetts know which is cart and which is horse . I was informed

by a very intelligent brother that formerly the Cryptic degrees were given in Boston in the following order : 1 st Select , 2 nd Royal , and 3 rd Super Excellent , but about six years ago the Select and the Royal changed places ,

that is , the Royal precedes the Select . We see now that what the New York Cryptics confer first is in Boston conferred last , and vice versa . Whether the routine of the Cryptic degrees has been changed in New York since 1868 I have not ascertained .

In summing up the history of the so-called Cryptic Degrees , I must make a distinction between evidence derived from mere heresay , and evidence substantiated by original records or manuscripts . Hence , all that Bro . Bate said about Frederick King of Prussia , " who was in 1761