A. And A. Rite In The United States Of America.

A . AND A . RITE IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA .

BY BEO . JACOB NORTON . ( Continued from page 228 . ) I MUST now return to Soveroign Gourgas . It seems , according to Folger , that Gourgas' Council lingered on until 1818 , when it entirolv melted away , and ho was left Sovereign without subjects . In 1814 Gourgas held a Grand Council of the Northern jurisdiction ( of corn-so ,

consisting exclusively of himself ) , and there and then unanimousl y resolved to plant the A . and A . Eite in London . I do not know whether any ODO in England bad ever been transmogrified into the 33 ° . But what of it ? the power of an A . and A . Sovereign was potent enough to oonfer thirty . thirds even to parties who were tbon . sanda of miles away from him . All he had to do was to send them

the " Anoient Secret Constitutions , the Eitual , and other directions how to make themselves thirty . thirds . " The year 1845 is an important epoch in the history of Gourgas ' Northern jurisdiction ; in that year he thirty . thirded , five or sis personages , the most important of these were two Bostonians . First Edward A . Baymond . True , he -was'illiterate , but he was rioh ; very

ambitious to climb to the top of the Masonio ladder , and was willing to pay for it . Bro . Baymond had some years before obtained permission from Giles , Pounder Gates of Albany , New York , to play a Prince of Jerusalem . I have seen him several times march in procession at the head of a small squad of "Princes of Jerusalem , " and Bro . Baymond imagined himself a veritable Prince of Jerusalem . Why ! do

not all authorities agree that the old Hebrew Princes of Jerusalem were dressed in blaok cloth pants , vests , swallow . tailed coats , cooked hats with long white ostrioh feathers ? Well , Bro . Raymond and Bis squad of Princes were costumed in the same fashion . The second Bostonian was Charles W . Moore , Grand Secretary of Massachusetts . Bro . Moore -wrote on Masonry in 1824 or 1826 . He

was the great champion of Freemasonry during the anti-Masonio crusade . He was a St . John's Day lpcturer . In 1841 he started a Masonio magazine . In 1843 he published a Masonio manual . Massachusetts Masons were proud of him . Nothing ever was done in the Grand Lodge which was not sanctioned by Bro . Moore . Indeed , " he was the power behind the throne ,

greater than the throne itself . " Iu 1845 , his fame had already extended over North Amerioa 5 besides which , he was in correspondencfl with Dr . Oliver , Dr . Crucefix , and perhaps with other distinguished foreign brethren ; he was a great controversialist ; but , above all , he was believed to be , "the greatest Masonio authority in the world" in " the science of Masonic jurisprudence , " and being

editor of a Masonio mngazine , at a time when not more than one or two other suoh magazines had started into existence , it will readily be admitted that he was a trump-card for Bro . Gourgas . It was not , however , before 1848 that Gourgas organised a Supreme Conncil , with himself as Sovereign , and Moore as Grand Secretary of the " Holy Empire . " Their maiden doonment was then sent to all

the Grand Lodges in the United States , informing them of the establishment of a Supreme Council for the Northern jurisdiction , & c , & o ., and that the said Conncil had authority to rule the Grand Lodges of the Blue degrees , but for the present it would " forbear " to exercise that power . This impudent assertion , be it remembered , was issued by not more than nine individuals . By 1850 , Raymond ,

having learned how to be a Sovereign , bonght out Gourgas' Sovereignty , removed tbe Conncil from New York to Boston . Baymond then became Sovereign , Moore Secretary , & c . Baymond now arrived at the top of his ambition : in 1850 he was both G . M . of Massachusetts and Sovereign of the A . and A . Rite—for all which , however , he was indebted to Moore ' s engineering . Besides

which , as Raymond was illiterate , Moore supplied him with addresses and reports , both for the G . L . and the Supreme Council . Up to 1845 the name of Gourgas was almost unknown , even to American high graders ; but by the succession of events above narrated , above all , tbe removal of the concern to Boston , the Cerneanites found an opponent , the like of which they never encountered before .

Besides , Moore s ability to torture and twist " the science of Masonic jurisprudence " to suit his own purposes , he was not over scrupulous as to facts . If facts failpd him , he invented . The addresses he wrote for Raymond were filled with the foulest and most abusive epithets against the Cerneauites . The number of the A . and A . Ritem in America was , however , then very few 5 and nobody outside of

those faotions knew what the fight was about ; but it was the general impression , at least in Boston , that Moore mnst be right . About 1854 or 1855 Bro . Raymond treated Bro . Moore to a trip to Europe . It seems that during that trip something occurred to rapture the long . existing friendship between Raymond and Moore . Besides this free treat to Europe , it is well known that Moore was

trader financial obligations to Raymond . But Moore was a spoilt man ; he was so much flattered by his correspondents ; he had so much his own way in the G . L ., and consequently became so mnch puffed with self-conceit , that he finally could not bear the slightest opposition to his dictum . Sovereign Raymond had a weakness not nncommon to Sovereign rulers ; Moore ceased to be his favourite

and he substituted for Moore the Rev . Bro . Randall P . G . M . of Massachusetts . Some two or three years after Moore was treated with a trip to Europe , Raymond gave Randall tbe same treat . This must have been a further cause of irritation to our imperious Bro . Moore Banda'I was Moore's pastor , and Randall would never have been G . M . if Moore had not made him G . M . To be brief . In 1860 , an

open rupture took place between Moore and Raymond . Moore deposed Raymond from bis Sovereignty , and placed on the throne n New Yorker who belonged to his faction . Up to this time the number of the ^ e A . and A . gentry -was still very small , the Snpremc Council of 1860 instead of having nine members had only five : the other four positions were kept open in anticipation of some big guns

A. And A. Rite In The United States Of America.

who might be worthy of them , but this rebellion of Moore changed the original policy . Now , thirty-seconds , and thirty-thirds too , are as plentiful hero as mosquitoes on a midsummer night . Raymond was not , however , withont adherents . P . G . M . Robinson stood np for him . P . G . M . Randall was now raised to the thirty-third degree , was made a member of Raymond ' s Conncil , and became

Raymond ' s champion . Randall , who was educated in a school of theological controversy , was even a more adroit hair-splitter than Mooro himself . Moore monopolised a Masonic magazine ; Randall , therefore , pnblished a pamphlet , in which he proved to demonstra . 'ion that , according to tho Constitutions of the thrice illustrious Frederick the Great , that Moore was a worse kind of rebel , and

that his concern was bogns , illegitimate , spurious , clandestine , & o ., Ac . About the same time , the editor and proprietor of the Boston Herald , opened a Masonio colnmn in his Sunday issue He was a Raymondite , and he and his friends now peppered away at the Moorites . Unfor . tunately , the said Herald proprietor belonged to a Lodge consisting almost exclusively of Moorites , so charges were brought against him ,

I never could- learn for what , and he was expelled from Masonry and has never been restored since . I have gone ahead a little too fast , and must therefore retrace my steps to 1860 . I have said that Moore was very overbearing , and especially to the humbler members of the Fraternity , but as long as the upper ten continued to praise him as an oraole , the lower hundred

had to bite their nails and bear his insults ; when , however , three past Grand Masters united in exposing Moore ' s presumptions , the offended ones began to express their feelings against Moore more openly . " Moore , " they said , "has been too long in office , and it is high time to make a change , " & o . To strengthen himself in hi 3 position , Moore sent emissaries to the permanent members of the

Grand Lodge , viz .: P . G . "Masters , P . D . G . Masters , P . G . Wardens , as well aa to the Grand Officers , offering them his high degrees for little or nothing . But Raymond did the same : next , the rising or talented members of tbe Fraternity , snch as lawyers , doctors , Ac , received the same offers from both parties . Next emissaries were sent to the Masters and Wardens of both town and country Loiges : and ,

lastly , everybody in the Craft was offered the degrees by both factions for little or nothing . * Thus , twenty-five dollars was the price for being made a thirty-second , but if a man was shrewd he could get them at his own price . The result was a great rush into high degreedom , nnd as many as one hundred and fifty , and even more , were made in those concerns in a single night . For these facts I have the best

evidence . Thus , a P . D . G . M ., a lawyer of high standing , assured me that delegates from both factions offered to make him a thirty . third for nothing ; a P . M . of St . John's Lodge told me that an emissary waited upon him , and offered to make him a thirty-second for twenty , five dollars ; but promised that the money shonld be returned to him as soon as he joined the concern . A member of the Raymond party said

to me , " I will tell you the method adopted by our recruiting sergeants . Thus : Bro . A . would call upon Bro . B ., and after some general talk , would break out with , " Oh ! look here ; why con't you join the high degrees ? I can get you in . The price is only twenty-five dollars . Cheap ! dirt cheap ! you will never have the chance again , Ac . Ac . B . —Well , I don ' t know ; but I will consider about it . " A few days

afterwards B . received an invitation to meet A . in the evening at one of the sauctums . When he came there A . said : " Oh ! I am glad you are here , and I congratulate you on your being unanimously elected . " B . — " But I did not authorise you to propose me . I said I would see . " A . — " Oh ! That is all nonsense . I know you meant it . It is only twenty-five dollars . So come in . " B . — "But I can't

spare twenty-five dollars . " A . — " Oh ! is money an object . Well , you shall have the degrees for twenty dollars . Have them for fifteen . Come , you shall have them for ten . Cheap ! dirt cheap ! " And so Bro . B . pot a bargain , viz ., twenty-nine sublime degrees , besides the titles of Sir Knight this , Sir Knight that , and Sir Knight of ever so many orders of high chivalry ; also the titles of Royal Prince ,

Emperor , and what not ! All these hig h honours he got for ten dollars . A thirty-second of the Moore faction said to me , " I will tell you , Bro . N ., how thirty-seconds were in those days sublimed by wholesale . Imagine ( said he ) a hundred and fifty of ns dressed in white cotton garments , each carrying a long cross , and marching in

procession round the hall , headed by an officer wearing high boots , the upper part strapped round the waist , to which were appended spurs about a foot long ; and after so marching several times round the hall , we came to a sudden halt , when , in a thrice , each of us had twenty-nine degrees injected into him , which , together with the three blue degrees , transmogrified us all at once into sublime

thirtyseconds . In 1863 news reach the Moorite camp that the Raymondites had united with the New York Cerneanites . The howl of indignation raised at the said news by the Moorites could not be surpassed by an Irish mob ; some , who were -filled to overflowing with Christian charity , bitterly lamented the fate of poor Bro . Raymond , that he had

so" Fallen , fallen , fallen , from his high estate . " Others wrote more savagely j . while others again went to work and collected all the foul epithets which Raymond in his addresses ( which addresses were all written by Moore ) had formerly hurled at the Cerneanites . On the other hand , the Cerneauites brought to light a correspondence of Moore with them , wherein he himself offered to nnite with them . Tbe reader may now form an idea of the amount of intrigue and deceit in which those " Thrice Illustriouses " then m-