Occasional Papers.—No. Ix. The So-Called "Ancient" Masons.

OCCASIONAL PAPERS . —No . IX . THE SO-CALLED " ANCIENT" MASONS .

( Concluded from page 266 . ) SETTING aside the question , when and under what circircumstances the Great Secession of last century arose , there is no doubt that , after the establishment of the "Ancient" Grand Lodge in 1753 , and especially under the auspices of Bro . Laurence Dermott , author of the Ahimon

Rezon , or Book of Constitutions of tho Masonic Body of which he was so distinguished a member—if , indeed , I may not go the length of calling him its main pillar—the Schismatics went on rapidly increasing in numbers . Bnt especially was this the case Avhen , in 1771 , John , third Dnke

of Athole , accepted the office of Grand Master , ancl , as has already been remarked , it is to his influence and that of his successor in tho Dukedom , who presided over that section of the English Craft for two periods , amounting together to twenty-eight years , that tho members were as

frequently called " Athole" as they were " Ancient " Masons . Not only were numerous Lodges founded ia London and the Provinces , but Provincial Grand Lodges were established in the Colonies , especially in those situated in North America . In fact , though Provincial Grand

Deputations were granted by England , before a Schism was dreamt of—though not before dissatisfaction had broken ont in the ranks of the English Crnft—many of the parent G . Lodges of the United States of North America owe their origin rather to the Deputations granted by the "Ancients "

than to those of its rival , or of the one Grand Lodge of England anterior to 1750 . Thus in Pennsylvania , New Tork , Massachusetts , the Carolinns , & c , there were Lodges which owed their origin to the Regular Grand Lodge of England , and though some of these still exist , the

Constituted Grand Lodges trace their descent rather from the '"' Ancients" than the " Moderns , " this being , however , a matter of no great moment , now that tbe distinction between the two bodies no longer exists . As showing , however , the extent to which the schism prevailed , it is

worthy of note , that of the 333 Lodges constituted prior to the Union of 1813 , which are still on the roll of our United Grand Lodge—the highest number is 339 , but six of them no longer remain—no less than 126 worked under the regime of the "Ancients . " This coupled with what I have said as to its wide ramifications both at home and

abroad is sufficient to show how influential a body it must have been , and consequently how deep is the debt of gratitude we owe to the Dukes of Kent and Sussex , and their distinguished coadjutor , the Earl of Moira , afterwards

Marquis of Hastings , for having healed the wounds which , for three parts of a century , had afflicted Freemasonry in England . Another feature in connection with the " Ancients "

deserves attention . It is often stated that more intimate relations existed between the Grand Lodges of Ireland aud Scotland and the Grand Lodge of the " Ancients " than with the "Regular" Grand Lodge , and that , as regards Scotland , it was not till the Earl of Moira visited Edinburgh ,

in the early years of this century , that our Scottish brethren were fully informed of the circumstances of Freemasonry in England , its division into two bodies , and the mutual recriminations in which those bodies indulged . It is certainly the case that with the exception of Lord Aberdour ,

who was Grand Master of the " Regular " Grand Lodge of London from 17-57 to 1761 , and Grand Master of Scotland in 1755 56 , no Regular Grand Master in England had any part in the Government , as Grand Master , of the Craft in Scotland from 1753 till the year 1806-7 , when the

Earl of Moira , Acting Grand Master of the " Regular " or " Modern" Lodge , was elected Grand Master of Scotland . On the other hand , both the Dukes of Athole were Grand Masters of Scotland as well as of the "Ancients , " the third Dnke , as stated in the earlier

portion of this paper , in 1773 , and the fourth Duke in 1778-79 , while , as regards Ireland , the greater intimacy between its Grand Lodge and the " Ancients " is , no doubt , to be explained by the fact that the Earl of Blessington ,

the Hon . Thomas Mathevv , and the Earl , afterwards Marquis , of Antrim , who were Grand Masters of the " Ancients " or " Seccders" in 1756-60 , 1766-70 , and 1783-91 respectively , were connected with the Craft in Ireland , the Earl

Occasional Papers.—No. Ix. The So-Called "Ancient" Masons.

of Blessington as Grand Master in 1738-9 , the Earl of Antrim as Grand Master iu 1773 and again in 1779 , aud the Hon . T . Mathew as Provincial Grand Master of Mnnster . A few words seem necessary respecting Bro . Laurence

Dermott , who , as I have suggested , must be looked upon as the genius of tho " Ancients . " It is true that but littl e is known of him beyond tbe fact , that ho came originall y from Ireland—another circumstance which will doubtless in great measure help to account for the close intimacy that

existed between Ireland and our " Ancient " friends . He , in the first instance , occupied the position of Grand Secretary , and afterwards became Deputy Grand Master . He is best known , however , by his celebrated work , alread y referred to , the "Ahimon Rezon , " the first edition of

which appeared in 1756 , the second iu 1764 , while others were published subsequently . He is also usually credited with having introduced the " Royal Arch , " at all events as the speciality which characterised the Masonic creed of the "Ancients" and distinguished it from thafc of the

" Regular " Craffc . Though enthusiastic in the interests of his own section of English Freemasonry , he was by no means slow to take a leaf out of the book of his rivals ; and tbe better regulations for the government of the "Regular" Masons , introduced by Brother , afterwards

Lord , Ward , were adopted by him en bloc . Two or three ofcher points may also bo noted . Firstly , the Dukes of Athole , two of whom played so dististinguished a part in connection with the Grand Lodge of the " Ancients , " have since retained their interest in the Craft , the sixth

Dnke having been Grand Master of Scotland from 1846 to 1863 , while the present , or seventh Duke , is also a distinguished member of the Scottish Craft . Another point in connection with the " Ancients " is the plan they adopted by which a Lodge holding an inferior place on the roll of

their Grand Lodge might purchase a superior one by paying a certain sum to the Fund of Charity . Thus , if , we will say , Lodge No . 35 ceased to be in active working , Lodge No . 145—to take any number for the purpose of illustration—might purchase the warrant for a sum of guineas

paid over to the aforesaid Fund of Charity . This , of course , complicates the labours of such zealous investigators of Masonic history as Bros . Hughan and Gould , the latter of whom appears to have taken tho " Athole " Lodges under his especial charge . A third point more

properly concerns the Calendar Committee of our Board of General Purposes , which , without due reflection , appears to have taken upon itself to place the present Lodges Nos . 3 , 5 , 7 , 9 , 11 , 13 , and 15 , which were all " Ancient , " on the same footing as the "Modern "

Nos . 2 and 4 , which remain of the " Four Old Lodges " which , in 1717 , established the Grand Lodge of England . Now , as the readers of Findel may discover for themselves , the real " Ancients " are unquestionably , the so-called " Moderns , " while the real " Moderns " are the self-styled

"Ancients , " as it was the latter who seceded from the original one Grand Lodge of England . _ It was no doubt intended by these rival designations to distinguish between the brethren who upheld what were deemed to be the true principles of " Ancient" Masonry as they were enunciated

in the days anterior to 1717 , from those who upheld the principles laid down by tbe Grand Lodge constituted in that year . Still , it cannot be denied that the Seceders were , in the order of things , junior to the body from which they separated , and the terms as they were applied to

themselves and the Lodges holding under the 1717 Grand Lodge are consequently misleading . Moreover , as the " Four Old Lodges , " to which we owe the establishment of the Speculative system of Freemasonry , alone existed before that event , it follows that even the oldest of the

Athole Lodges must have been established at known dates , ancl this is shown in Bro . Kenning ' s " Cosmopolitan Masonic Calendar , " where , on the authority of Brother Hughan , the dates of the foundation of these Lodges are

given as follow : —No . 3 in 1784 ; No . 5 in 1752 ; Nos . 7 , 9 , ancl 11 in 1751 ; No . 13 in 1785 ; and No . 15 in 1752 . The application of " Time Immemorial " to these Lodges seemsthereforeto be terribly misapplied .

, , I have now completed my—I fear , imperfect—sketch of the so-called "Ancient" Masons . That they did good work may not be denied ; our present Royal Masonic Institution

for Boys is partly of " Ancient " origin , but that till the year 1813 they were anything else than schismatics is equally undeniable . However , there is no longer any such distinction prevailing in our midst . Time healed the wounds of our