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Article SO-CALLED " CRYPTIC MASONRY." ← Page 3 of 3 Article OBEDIENCE. Page 1 of 1 Article ALLIED MASONIC DEGREES. Page 1 of 1
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
So-Called " Cryptic Masonry."
M . P . S . G . C . of the 33 rd degree at Berlin ; " about Henry A . Franker ( or Franken ) " having been appointed a Dep . Insp . Gen . by Stephen Morin , " and that " the Royal and Select Degrees were very extensively promulgated at the South . . . from 1782 ; " all of which I unhesitatingly put down as pure fiction . Frederick the Great was never a
high degreer , and consequently the so-called " Frederick the Great Charter , " under which the Charleston high degree luminaries established , in 1802 , their so-called " Ancient and Accepted Rite , " has been condemned as a
fraudulent forgery . Kloss denounced that Frederick Charter as " the greatest lie of the Order . " Rebold , Findel , and Folger have demonstrated the falsity of Frederick's connection with any high degrees whatsoever .
All that we know about the origin of the Cryptics and CrypMcism is simply this . In 1761 somebody at Charleston , South Carolina , received news from the West Indies of 22 new French degrees , said to have been brought there by
Stephen Morin , an asrent of a Paris firm of Masonic degree manufacturers , thus increasing the number of degrees to twenty-five . In 1802 the Charleston worthies were in possession of fifty-two degrees , eight of which they tacked
on to the French degrees of 1761 , making a total of thirtythree degrees , which they 5 variously styled " Scotch Rite , " and " A . and A . Rite . " The remaining nineteen degrees they called " Detached Degrees . " Among these
was a " Select Masters' Degree . " Messrs . Eckel and Niles , of Baltimore , somehow got hold of that degree . In 181 . 7 they gave Jeremy L . Cross power to establish Councils for
the Select Degrree . In 1820 the said Eckel and Co . granted a warrant to New Yorkers to open a Council for the Select Degree in New York . And now for the other Cryptic branch .
In New York they bad , in 1810 , a Council of " Royal Masters . " In the same year they gave in that Council a degree called " Knights of the Round Table , " and in 1811 they conferred degrees called "Knights of the Garter , "
and " Knights of St . George , " & c . In 1817 they added the " Super Excellent" Degree . In 1821 the Councils of Royals and the Council of Selects united into one Council , and in 1842 this United Council tacked on to the
above-named two degrees , the " Super Excellent Degree , which , as already stated , made its first appearance in New York in 1817 . The inference therefore is , that the Select Masters' degree was manufactured in Charleston before
1802 , while all the other degrees conferred in the York Council between 1810 and 1821 , including even the Royal Masters' degree , owe their origin to one or more New York geniuses . And should the Masonic thirst for more
degrees continue , we may again be blessed with the Knights of the Round Table , Knights of tbe Garter , and Knights of St . George and the Dragon . And why not ? Bro . Folger , the Historian of the A . and A . degrees , says , that in 1824
" the degree of Aaron ' s Band was conferred in New York by power from the Sovereign Grand Consistory . " Bro . Rob Morris manufactured some Masonic Orders , among which is one for Lady Freemasons , called the Order of the
Eastern Star , consisting of five performances . We have also the Sacred Order of the Mystic Shrine , and several other Masonic Orders and degrees of recent manufacture . I was informed in London during last spring that an agent
of the New York Mystic Shriners had been trying to sell Warrants for establishing there his Sacred Order , but he received a cold shoulder from those he met with . But what of it ? If Templar-ism , A . and A .-ism , the Cross of
Constantine-ism , Cryptic-ism , and other isms find a ready market in England , the Sacred Shrine may also ere long be numbered among English respected Masonic Orders . Indeed , all that is necessary to make a success of it is
simply for the Shriner to get an ambitious Lord , a Sir , or even an M . P . to patronise it , and then hundreds , and even thousands , will rush into the concern to be Mystic Shrined .
Looking , therefore , at the multiplicity and the still continued rage for multiplying Masonic degrees , I consider it my duty to caution every Mason against rushing into any and all kinds of so-called " higher degrees , " for the more degrees he will take the more humbugged he will be . BOSTON , U . S ., 10 th Aug . 1885 .
The Keviaed Book of Constitutions ; Critically Considered and Compared with the Old Edition . London : Simpkin , Marshall & Co ., 4 Stationers' Hall Court , E . C . Sent on receipt of stamps , One Shilling , by W . W . Morgan , Freemason ' s Chronicle Office , Belvidere Works , Hermes Hill , Pentonville .
Obedience.
OBEDIENCE .
THE first duty of a soldier is obedience . All the orders of a superior officer must be implicitly and faithfull y obeyed ; and the soldier refusing to obey such orders , on being tried by a court-martial , shall have no mitigation of his sentence or punishment from the fact that it shall be
proven before such court that the orders of tho superior officer were not just or legal . If a soldier be aggrieved in that way , he shall obtain redress if he prefer his complaint
to the commanding officer , through the captain of his company—but he must first obey the order and afterwards make his complaint .
Such was the first lesson we received in our boyhood when we exchanged our liberty for a shilling , " in the name of her Most Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria . " Such is
the opening of the first Chapter of the British Articles of War , which the captain of each company in Her Majesty ' s service is compelled to read to each man in his company on " muster parade day , " that is , the last day in each month .
The first duty of a Mason is also obedience . " A Mason is obliged by his tenure to obey the Moral Law . " Here we find a striking resemblance between the military and Masonic law . Not only is that resemblance to be seen in
theory , but in the practice of Masons in Lodge assembled and soldiers on parade . The General draws his plan upon his trestle-board , gives his instructions to his subordinates , who proclaim his will and pleasure to the soldiers , and they
govern themselves accordingly . The officers receive the commands of their General with pleasure , communicate them with pleasure , and the soldiers have pleasure in obeying them . The most difficult evolutions of the field are
performed in a manner to excite the admiration of the spectator entirely and solely by obeying the word of command . A brigade of infantry or a squadron of cavalry will with perfect ease go through the most intricate exercises by
obeying the instructions given them . Every man must obey the order . If one individual refuse or neglect so to do , confusion and disorder arise , and beauty and harmony are lost .
How correspondingly obedient should the members of Freemasonry be ! They are both the parent and offspring of order ; and order , that first of Heaven ' s laws , they should ever cultivate and practise . The Master of his
Lodge is the general of his army—draws the designs and plans—communicates them to his subordinates ( the Wardens ) , and they proclaim them to the Craft , who , in their turn , obey them to the letter , and thus peace and harmony , and order prevail .
In some instances we have seen the utmost confusion
m the ranks , in consequence of giving the command of a battalion to an unqualified and incompetent officer—the soldiers were willing to obey , and did obey , with reluctance , the orders given them , but instead of beauty and harmony
, disorder and chaos were the result . We have seen in Masonic Lodges similar confusion through the inexperience and ignorance of the Master , rendered worse still by the progress the brethren had made in acquiring these
qualities , from their Master . An ignorant officer can improve himself by studying his drill books ; and I believe an ignorant Mason may very much improve his knowledge of Masonry by studying Masonic literature . —Bro . J . W . LEONARD , in the Freemason ' s Repository .
Allied Masonic Degrees.
ALLIED MASONIC DEGREES.
EBOR COUNCIL , T . I .
A MEETING of this council was summoned on Tuesday , the 18 fch ultimo , afc the Grand Stand Hotel , the Knavesmire , York , for the purpose of celebrating the anniversary of St . Lawrence . The Lodge of St . Lawrence was opened in the large room of the Grand Stand , the W . M ., Brother W . B . Dyson , presiding . There were also present Bros . A . T . B . Turner I . P . M ., T . B . Whytehead P . M . Sec ,
Dr . B . L . Mills S . W ., H . C . Pickersgill J . W ., W . Brown J . D ., Major McGachen I . G ., and other brethren . Bro . W . Stephenson was admitted into the Order of St . Lawrence , some business was done , and the Lodge closed , and then the party adjourned to the dining room , where a capital banquet had been provided by tbe host , Bro . VV . M . Briggs .
£ 20 . — ToBA . cco ! ii 9 is COMMHHCI-ND . —An illustrated guide ( 110 passes ) " How to Open Respectably from £ 20 to £ 2000 . " 3 Stamps . H . MYERS & Co ., Cisar and Tobacco Merchants , 109 Boston Road , London . Wholesale only . Telephone No . 7541 .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
So-Called " Cryptic Masonry."
M . P . S . G . C . of the 33 rd degree at Berlin ; " about Henry A . Franker ( or Franken ) " having been appointed a Dep . Insp . Gen . by Stephen Morin , " and that " the Royal and Select Degrees were very extensively promulgated at the South . . . from 1782 ; " all of which I unhesitatingly put down as pure fiction . Frederick the Great was never a
high degreer , and consequently the so-called " Frederick the Great Charter , " under which the Charleston high degree luminaries established , in 1802 , their so-called " Ancient and Accepted Rite , " has been condemned as a
fraudulent forgery . Kloss denounced that Frederick Charter as " the greatest lie of the Order . " Rebold , Findel , and Folger have demonstrated the falsity of Frederick's connection with any high degrees whatsoever .
All that we know about the origin of the Cryptics and CrypMcism is simply this . In 1761 somebody at Charleston , South Carolina , received news from the West Indies of 22 new French degrees , said to have been brought there by
Stephen Morin , an asrent of a Paris firm of Masonic degree manufacturers , thus increasing the number of degrees to twenty-five . In 1802 the Charleston worthies were in possession of fifty-two degrees , eight of which they tacked
on to the French degrees of 1761 , making a total of thirtythree degrees , which they 5 variously styled " Scotch Rite , " and " A . and A . Rite . " The remaining nineteen degrees they called " Detached Degrees . " Among these
was a " Select Masters' Degree . " Messrs . Eckel and Niles , of Baltimore , somehow got hold of that degree . In 181 . 7 they gave Jeremy L . Cross power to establish Councils for
the Select Degrree . In 1820 the said Eckel and Co . granted a warrant to New Yorkers to open a Council for the Select Degree in New York . And now for the other Cryptic branch .
In New York they bad , in 1810 , a Council of " Royal Masters . " In the same year they gave in that Council a degree called " Knights of the Round Table , " and in 1811 they conferred degrees called "Knights of the Garter , "
and " Knights of St . George , " & c . In 1817 they added the " Super Excellent" Degree . In 1821 the Councils of Royals and the Council of Selects united into one Council , and in 1842 this United Council tacked on to the
above-named two degrees , the " Super Excellent Degree , which , as already stated , made its first appearance in New York in 1817 . The inference therefore is , that the Select Masters' degree was manufactured in Charleston before
1802 , while all the other degrees conferred in the York Council between 1810 and 1821 , including even the Royal Masters' degree , owe their origin to one or more New York geniuses . And should the Masonic thirst for more
degrees continue , we may again be blessed with the Knights of the Round Table , Knights of tbe Garter , and Knights of St . George and the Dragon . And why not ? Bro . Folger , the Historian of the A . and A . degrees , says , that in 1824
" the degree of Aaron ' s Band was conferred in New York by power from the Sovereign Grand Consistory . " Bro . Rob Morris manufactured some Masonic Orders , among which is one for Lady Freemasons , called the Order of the
Eastern Star , consisting of five performances . We have also the Sacred Order of the Mystic Shrine , and several other Masonic Orders and degrees of recent manufacture . I was informed in London during last spring that an agent
of the New York Mystic Shriners had been trying to sell Warrants for establishing there his Sacred Order , but he received a cold shoulder from those he met with . But what of it ? If Templar-ism , A . and A .-ism , the Cross of
Constantine-ism , Cryptic-ism , and other isms find a ready market in England , the Sacred Shrine may also ere long be numbered among English respected Masonic Orders . Indeed , all that is necessary to make a success of it is
simply for the Shriner to get an ambitious Lord , a Sir , or even an M . P . to patronise it , and then hundreds , and even thousands , will rush into the concern to be Mystic Shrined .
Looking , therefore , at the multiplicity and the still continued rage for multiplying Masonic degrees , I consider it my duty to caution every Mason against rushing into any and all kinds of so-called " higher degrees , " for the more degrees he will take the more humbugged he will be . BOSTON , U . S ., 10 th Aug . 1885 .
The Keviaed Book of Constitutions ; Critically Considered and Compared with the Old Edition . London : Simpkin , Marshall & Co ., 4 Stationers' Hall Court , E . C . Sent on receipt of stamps , One Shilling , by W . W . Morgan , Freemason ' s Chronicle Office , Belvidere Works , Hermes Hill , Pentonville .
Obedience.
OBEDIENCE .
THE first duty of a soldier is obedience . All the orders of a superior officer must be implicitly and faithfull y obeyed ; and the soldier refusing to obey such orders , on being tried by a court-martial , shall have no mitigation of his sentence or punishment from the fact that it shall be
proven before such court that the orders of tho superior officer were not just or legal . If a soldier be aggrieved in that way , he shall obtain redress if he prefer his complaint
to the commanding officer , through the captain of his company—but he must first obey the order and afterwards make his complaint .
Such was the first lesson we received in our boyhood when we exchanged our liberty for a shilling , " in the name of her Most Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria . " Such is
the opening of the first Chapter of the British Articles of War , which the captain of each company in Her Majesty ' s service is compelled to read to each man in his company on " muster parade day , " that is , the last day in each month .
The first duty of a Mason is also obedience . " A Mason is obliged by his tenure to obey the Moral Law . " Here we find a striking resemblance between the military and Masonic law . Not only is that resemblance to be seen in
theory , but in the practice of Masons in Lodge assembled and soldiers on parade . The General draws his plan upon his trestle-board , gives his instructions to his subordinates , who proclaim his will and pleasure to the soldiers , and they
govern themselves accordingly . The officers receive the commands of their General with pleasure , communicate them with pleasure , and the soldiers have pleasure in obeying them . The most difficult evolutions of the field are
performed in a manner to excite the admiration of the spectator entirely and solely by obeying the word of command . A brigade of infantry or a squadron of cavalry will with perfect ease go through the most intricate exercises by
obeying the instructions given them . Every man must obey the order . If one individual refuse or neglect so to do , confusion and disorder arise , and beauty and harmony are lost .
How correspondingly obedient should the members of Freemasonry be ! They are both the parent and offspring of order ; and order , that first of Heaven ' s laws , they should ever cultivate and practise . The Master of his
Lodge is the general of his army—draws the designs and plans—communicates them to his subordinates ( the Wardens ) , and they proclaim them to the Craft , who , in their turn , obey them to the letter , and thus peace and harmony , and order prevail .
In some instances we have seen the utmost confusion
m the ranks , in consequence of giving the command of a battalion to an unqualified and incompetent officer—the soldiers were willing to obey , and did obey , with reluctance , the orders given them , but instead of beauty and harmony
, disorder and chaos were the result . We have seen in Masonic Lodges similar confusion through the inexperience and ignorance of the Master , rendered worse still by the progress the brethren had made in acquiring these
qualities , from their Master . An ignorant officer can improve himself by studying his drill books ; and I believe an ignorant Mason may very much improve his knowledge of Masonry by studying Masonic literature . —Bro . J . W . LEONARD , in the Freemason ' s Repository .
Allied Masonic Degrees.
ALLIED MASONIC DEGREES.
EBOR COUNCIL , T . I .
A MEETING of this council was summoned on Tuesday , the 18 fch ultimo , afc the Grand Stand Hotel , the Knavesmire , York , for the purpose of celebrating the anniversary of St . Lawrence . The Lodge of St . Lawrence was opened in the large room of the Grand Stand , the W . M ., Brother W . B . Dyson , presiding . There were also present Bros . A . T . B . Turner I . P . M ., T . B . Whytehead P . M . Sec ,
Dr . B . L . Mills S . W ., H . C . Pickersgill J . W ., W . Brown J . D ., Major McGachen I . G ., and other brethren . Bro . W . Stephenson was admitted into the Order of St . Lawrence , some business was done , and the Lodge closed , and then the party adjourned to the dining room , where a capital banquet had been provided by tbe host , Bro . VV . M . Briggs .
£ 20 . — ToBA . cco ! ii 9 is COMMHHCI-ND . —An illustrated guide ( 110 passes ) " How to Open Respectably from £ 20 to £ 2000 . " 3 Stamps . H . MYERS & Co ., Cisar and Tobacco Merchants , 109 Boston Road , London . Wholesale only . Telephone No . 7541 .