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Article THE EARL OF ROSSLYN, K.T. Page 1 of 2 Article THE EARL OF ROSSLYN, K.T. Page 1 of 2 →
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The Earl Of Rosslyn, K.T.
THE EARL OF ROSSLYN , K . T .
IT is no ordinary member of ( he great Masonic brotherhood who has kindly undertaken to preside on Wednesday next at the Eighty-first Anniversary Festival of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys . On the contrary , the Earl of Eosslyn , K . T ., Her Majesty ' s Lord High
Commissioner to the Churcb of Scotland , can boast a Masonic pedigree such as it is given to few even of the most distinguished Craftsmen to be able to point to . Into the merits of the question whether the Sinclairs from whom his Lordship is lineally descended
were or were not hereditary Grand Master Masons of Scotland , in consequence of an alleged warrant , issued by James II . of that country , constituting the Earl of Orkney of that time and his successors as such ; or hereditary patrons under the well-known Roslin charters
ofaccording to Bro . Murray Lyon , to whom we are indebted for most of these particulars—1600-1 and 1628 , as granted by the Masons themselves , it is not our intention , nor have we space , to enter . Let it suffice that among the ancestors of his Lordship is that William Sinclair who , by the
resignation in 1736 of whatever Masonic rights he possessed , prepared the way for the constitution in the same year of the Grand Lodge of Scotland . A part of the family name of St . Clair-Erskine sufficiently indicates this . But his Lordship has inherited a further claim upon our respect . His
grandfather , the second Earl of Rosslyn , was Depute Grand Master of Scotland in 1808 , and Grand Master Mason 1810-11 , besides which he held the office of Provincial Grand Master of Fifeshire for the period of thirty-six years ending in 1837 . But while we attach'due importance to his
hereditary claims , we infinitely prefer taking him on his own merits , which are both many in number and considerable in respect of their importance . He has , in fact , walked honourably in the footsteps of his ancestors , and though a man of only middle age , has filled or fills the majority of those
positions of dignity , which it . has been in the power of his Scottish brethren to bestow ; and not only has ho filled or does he fill them , but he is among the foremost of the Scottish Masons who have helped to elevate the tone and character of the Craft north of the Tweed . A brief sketch
of his Masonic career will show this . Francis Robert St . Clair-Erskine , fourth Earl of Rosslyn , Knight of the ancient and honourable Order of the Thistle , and Her Majesty ' s Lord High Commissioner to
the Church of Scotland , was born in tho year 1833 . He was initiated in the Lodge Kirkcaldy , No . 72 , in the year 1851 , and subsequently became its R . W . M . Some time afterwards he filled a similar position in one of our English Lodges at Malta , and so highly were his services
appreciated in this capacity that the brethren presented him with an elegant collar and jewel . He was called to office in the Grand Lodge of Scotland as Senior Grand Deacon in 1853 , and in the year following he filled the office of Junior Grand Warden . In 1855 he was elected
Substitute Grand Master , a post he held for eleven consecutive years . Moreover , it was in the year of his election to this high position that his lordship presented to Grand Lodge a magnificent camel ' s hair altar-cloth , which he had brought from the Temple at Mecca , and which bears
several Mahometan devices . In 1866 , on the death of his father , he succeeded to the title and estates . In 1869 he became ^ Depute Grand Master , and in that capacity entertained , in the month of August , about six hundred brethren with their wives , daughters , and sweethearts , at his domain
The Earl Of Rosslyn, K.T.
of Roslin , near Edinburgh ; there being present , besides tho Grand Mastor , Past Grand Master , and various Masonic dignitaries , the Countess of Rosslyn and many other ladies of distinction . In 1870 , on the retirement from the Masonic throne of the Ri" -ht Hon . Fox Maule , eleventh Earl of
Dalhousie—better known among us as Lord Panmurc—tho Earl of Rosslyn was chosen as his successor , and he had hardly entered on the duties of his office when ho announced his intention of doing all in his power to promote charitable institutions iu connection with Scottish Freemasonry . The " Fund of Scottish Masonic Benevolence" foil short
of its object , and Grand Lodge was unfortunately hampered by a serious amount of debt , amounting at the timo to which Bro . Lyon refers to over ; £ 13 , 000 . Accordingly , his lordship submitted various pi-oposals to this end , the principle of which was warmly approved by Grand Lodge ,
and the seed thus sown , especially as it has been so carefully watched over and cherished by his lordship ' s snecesor , the present Grand Master Mason of Scotland , will , no doubt , in time produce the desired result . The chief events of his Grand Mastership , which lasted to the close of
1873 , deserve to bo recorded . In May 1871 , ho visited tho Lodge of St . Andrew , Kilmarnock , No . 126 , on the occasion of its centenary celebration ; when he was supported by , amongst other distinguished brethren , Past
Grand Master Mason tho Earl of Dalhousie , and Colonel Mure of Caldwell , Prov . Graud Mastor of Ayrshire . In the course of the same month his lordship made a visitation to the Provincial Grand Lodo / c of Haddingtonshire
or East Lothian , and installed Major Hope of Luffncss as its Grand Master . The jubilee communication of the Lodge Celtic of Edinburgh and Leith , No . 291 , held in November , was honoured with his presence , and in tho same year he presided at the annual festival of the Lodges
in the Province of Glasgow , among tho principal guests being Sir Michael R . Shaw-Stewart , Bart ., M . P ., then Depute Grand Master , and now Grand Master Mason ; Bro . W . Montgomerie Noilson of Queenshill , Prov . Grand Master of Glasgow ; the Lord Provost of Glasgow , the
Sheriff of Lanarkshire , & c . During his visit ho was made a member , by honorary affiliation , of the Lodge of St . Mark , No . 102 , of Glasgow . At its February Communication in 1872 , Grand Lodge for the first time recoo-nised the Past Master ' s Ceremonial
of Installation , not , as Bro . Lyon points out , for tho purpose of introducing a now degree in Freemasonry , but with a view to authorising the ritual of Installed Maste ?* s as used in England , and so removing tho disqualification which
had before stood m the way of Scottish Past Masters being present at the installation of Masters in English Lodges . In the summer of this year he expressed a wish that he shonld not aerain be nominated for re-election to the Grand
Mastership , but in deference to the wishes of the brethren , as conveyed to him in a requisition signed by between six and seven thousand Craftsmen , his lordship consented to serve if re-elected , and he was re-elected accordingly . In October 1872 , he laid the foundation of the Watt Institute ,
Edinburgh , and in honour of tho occasion wns entertained at a banquet presided over by Lord Ardmillan . His lordship , in addition to being Immediate Past Grand Master Mason , is the representative of tho Grand Lodgo of Scotland at our English Grand Lodge , and is likewise a member by
honorary affiliation of Lodge No . 1 of Edinburgh ( St . Mary ' s Chapel ) . He is an cv .-offwio member of the Fund of Scottish Masonic Benevolence , and one of the Trustees of Grand Lodge . He is Past First Grand Principal , and as such , a member of the Supreme Committee of the Supreme Grand
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Earl Of Rosslyn, K.T.
THE EARL OF ROSSLYN , K . T .
IT is no ordinary member of ( he great Masonic brotherhood who has kindly undertaken to preside on Wednesday next at the Eighty-first Anniversary Festival of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys . On the contrary , the Earl of Eosslyn , K . T ., Her Majesty ' s Lord High
Commissioner to the Churcb of Scotland , can boast a Masonic pedigree such as it is given to few even of the most distinguished Craftsmen to be able to point to . Into the merits of the question whether the Sinclairs from whom his Lordship is lineally descended
were or were not hereditary Grand Master Masons of Scotland , in consequence of an alleged warrant , issued by James II . of that country , constituting the Earl of Orkney of that time and his successors as such ; or hereditary patrons under the well-known Roslin charters
ofaccording to Bro . Murray Lyon , to whom we are indebted for most of these particulars—1600-1 and 1628 , as granted by the Masons themselves , it is not our intention , nor have we space , to enter . Let it suffice that among the ancestors of his Lordship is that William Sinclair who , by the
resignation in 1736 of whatever Masonic rights he possessed , prepared the way for the constitution in the same year of the Grand Lodge of Scotland . A part of the family name of St . Clair-Erskine sufficiently indicates this . But his Lordship has inherited a further claim upon our respect . His
grandfather , the second Earl of Rosslyn , was Depute Grand Master of Scotland in 1808 , and Grand Master Mason 1810-11 , besides which he held the office of Provincial Grand Master of Fifeshire for the period of thirty-six years ending in 1837 . But while we attach'due importance to his
hereditary claims , we infinitely prefer taking him on his own merits , which are both many in number and considerable in respect of their importance . He has , in fact , walked honourably in the footsteps of his ancestors , and though a man of only middle age , has filled or fills the majority of those
positions of dignity , which it . has been in the power of his Scottish brethren to bestow ; and not only has ho filled or does he fill them , but he is among the foremost of the Scottish Masons who have helped to elevate the tone and character of the Craft north of the Tweed . A brief sketch
of his Masonic career will show this . Francis Robert St . Clair-Erskine , fourth Earl of Rosslyn , Knight of the ancient and honourable Order of the Thistle , and Her Majesty ' s Lord High Commissioner to
the Church of Scotland , was born in tho year 1833 . He was initiated in the Lodge Kirkcaldy , No . 72 , in the year 1851 , and subsequently became its R . W . M . Some time afterwards he filled a similar position in one of our English Lodges at Malta , and so highly were his services
appreciated in this capacity that the brethren presented him with an elegant collar and jewel . He was called to office in the Grand Lodge of Scotland as Senior Grand Deacon in 1853 , and in the year following he filled the office of Junior Grand Warden . In 1855 he was elected
Substitute Grand Master , a post he held for eleven consecutive years . Moreover , it was in the year of his election to this high position that his lordship presented to Grand Lodge a magnificent camel ' s hair altar-cloth , which he had brought from the Temple at Mecca , and which bears
several Mahometan devices . In 1866 , on the death of his father , he succeeded to the title and estates . In 1869 he became ^ Depute Grand Master , and in that capacity entertained , in the month of August , about six hundred brethren with their wives , daughters , and sweethearts , at his domain
The Earl Of Rosslyn, K.T.
of Roslin , near Edinburgh ; there being present , besides tho Grand Mastor , Past Grand Master , and various Masonic dignitaries , the Countess of Rosslyn and many other ladies of distinction . In 1870 , on the retirement from the Masonic throne of the Ri" -ht Hon . Fox Maule , eleventh Earl of
Dalhousie—better known among us as Lord Panmurc—tho Earl of Rosslyn was chosen as his successor , and he had hardly entered on the duties of his office when ho announced his intention of doing all in his power to promote charitable institutions iu connection with Scottish Freemasonry . The " Fund of Scottish Masonic Benevolence" foil short
of its object , and Grand Lodge was unfortunately hampered by a serious amount of debt , amounting at the timo to which Bro . Lyon refers to over ; £ 13 , 000 . Accordingly , his lordship submitted various pi-oposals to this end , the principle of which was warmly approved by Grand Lodge ,
and the seed thus sown , especially as it has been so carefully watched over and cherished by his lordship ' s snecesor , the present Grand Master Mason of Scotland , will , no doubt , in time produce the desired result . The chief events of his Grand Mastership , which lasted to the close of
1873 , deserve to bo recorded . In May 1871 , ho visited tho Lodge of St . Andrew , Kilmarnock , No . 126 , on the occasion of its centenary celebration ; when he was supported by , amongst other distinguished brethren , Past
Grand Master Mason tho Earl of Dalhousie , and Colonel Mure of Caldwell , Prov . Graud Mastor of Ayrshire . In the course of the same month his lordship made a visitation to the Provincial Grand Lodo / c of Haddingtonshire
or East Lothian , and installed Major Hope of Luffncss as its Grand Master . The jubilee communication of the Lodge Celtic of Edinburgh and Leith , No . 291 , held in November , was honoured with his presence , and in tho same year he presided at the annual festival of the Lodges
in the Province of Glasgow , among tho principal guests being Sir Michael R . Shaw-Stewart , Bart ., M . P ., then Depute Grand Master , and now Grand Master Mason ; Bro . W . Montgomerie Noilson of Queenshill , Prov . Grand Master of Glasgow ; the Lord Provost of Glasgow , the
Sheriff of Lanarkshire , & c . During his visit ho was made a member , by honorary affiliation , of the Lodge of St . Mark , No . 102 , of Glasgow . At its February Communication in 1872 , Grand Lodge for the first time recoo-nised the Past Master ' s Ceremonial
of Installation , not , as Bro . Lyon points out , for tho purpose of introducing a now degree in Freemasonry , but with a view to authorising the ritual of Installed Maste ?* s as used in England , and so removing tho disqualification which
had before stood m the way of Scottish Past Masters being present at the installation of Masters in English Lodges . In the summer of this year he expressed a wish that he shonld not aerain be nominated for re-election to the Grand
Mastership , but in deference to the wishes of the brethren , as conveyed to him in a requisition signed by between six and seven thousand Craftsmen , his lordship consented to serve if re-elected , and he was re-elected accordingly . In October 1872 , he laid the foundation of the Watt Institute ,
Edinburgh , and in honour of tho occasion wns entertained at a banquet presided over by Lord Ardmillan . His lordship , in addition to being Immediate Past Grand Master Mason , is the representative of tho Grand Lodgo of Scotland at our English Grand Lodge , and is likewise a member by
honorary affiliation of Lodge No . 1 of Edinburgh ( St . Mary ' s Chapel ) . He is an cv .-offwio member of the Fund of Scottish Masonic Benevolence , and one of the Trustees of Grand Lodge . He is Past First Grand Principal , and as such , a member of the Supreme Committee of the Supreme Grand