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Article ROYAL ARCH MASONRY IN PENNSYLVANIA. Page 1 of 1 Article ROYAL ARCH MASONRY IN PENNSYLVANIA. Page 1 of 1 Article "IT IS EASY TO PROMULGATE AN ERROR, BUT VERY HARD TO ERADICATE IT." Page 1 of 2 →
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Royal Arch Masonry In Pennsylvania.
ROYAL ARCH MASONRY IN PENNSYLVANIA .
WE have received , and fraternally acknowledge the receipt of copy of the Proceedings of the Grand Holy Royal Arch Chapter of Pennsylvania during the year 1877 , and we rejoice that this section of Freemasonry is in so exceedingly prosperous a condition . The Quarterly Convocations were held in the Masonic Temple ,
Philadelphia , on the 1 st February , 3 rd May , 2 nd August , and 1 st November respectively , and the Annual Convocation on the 27 th December . At each of these meetings Comp . Alfred P . Potter , Grand High Priest presided , and was well supported by his Grand Officers , and the
representatives of very many of the subordinate Chapters . At the May Convocation a communication from the Grand Chapter of Quebec , requesting recognition by the Grand Chapter of Pennsylvania , was referred to the Committee on Correspondence . At the Convocation in August , a full
and exhaustive report as to the state of Royal Arch Masonry in the jurisdiction was presented , and from this we glean the following interesting particulars . There are , or rather were at the time the Report was submitted , exactly one hundred Royal Arch Chapters
in the jurisdiction , three of which were constituted in 1876 , and three Mark Lodges . The number of Companions in the former on the 27 th December 1876 was 10 , 457 , there having been 684 admissions , & c . in the course of that year , and 548 resigned , suspended , expelled , or died . The
members of the three Mark Lodges mustered together 2 , 044 , as against 2 , 114 at the corresponding date in 1875 , two only having been marked in 1876 , while seven resigned , nineteen died , and forty-six were suspended or expelled , or together seventy-two . At the November
Convocation the Committee on Finance presented their Report , and the Resolutions attached thereto were adopted . From this we learn that for the year ended 29 th October 1877 , the receipts , including a balance from previous year of 1 , 510 dollars 35 cents ,
amounted to a little over 7 , 992 dollars . The expenditure reached over 5 , 481 dollars , leaving a balance of not quite 2 , 511 dollars . But of this close on 1 , 300 dollars were needed to pay balances due on appropriations to 27 th December 1877 , so that the balance was reduced to
1 , 011 dollars , and if to this sum the 423 dollars due to Grand Chapter were added , then the surplus of receipts over expenditure and appropriations showed the satisfactory total of 1 , 434 dollars . The investments of Grand Chapter were stated to be all in the Six per
Cent . Redemption Loan of the Grand Lodge , and to have reached 17 , 000 dollars . The estimated receipts and expenditure for the current year were set down—the former at close on 8 , 731 dollars , and the latter as under 6 , 750 dollars , leaving a surplus of about 1 , 981 dollars . The
Committee on Correspondence then delivered their report on the request for recognition by the Grand Chapter of Quebec , which report , for reasons which must commend themselves to all , was to the effect that the said Grand Chapter should not be recognised . The other
business having been disposed of , the election of principal Grand Officers for the ensuing year was proceeded with , and resulted as follows : —M . E . Comps . Alfred R . Potter
Grand High Priest , William C . Hamilton , M . D ., Grand King , Hibbert P . John Grand Scribe , Thomas R . Patton Graud Treasurer , and John Thompson Grand Secretary . These companions were formally installed into their respec-
Royal Arch Masonry In Pennsylvania.
tive offices at the Annual Communication on the 27 th December , on which occasion the other Grand Officers were appointed and invested , thus bringing the proceedings of the year to a satisfactory conclusion . The Appendix contains a mass of vory interesting
information , from which , if we had time and space , we should have great pleasure in making several excerpts . As it is , we must content ourselves with only a few remarks . Thus from that portion of it which treats of Canada we learn that the position of Arch Masonry in the Dominion
is eminently satisfactory as to the number of its members , while the finances show a cash Balance in hand , and in 5 per cent . Dominion Stocks amounting to over 6 , 082 dollars . The number of Chapters at dato is set down as seventy , and the number of Royal Arch Companions
at 3 , 115 .- The Report on Maine contains an excellent resume of the history of Mark Masonry in England , and the remarkable progress it has made since the establishment in 1856 of our Mark Grand Lodge . Under the head of New Jersey is a long and
instructive address by Comp . the Rev . James Murray , Grand Chaplain , on the occasion of the annual Convocation of the Grand Chapter of that State , the subject being "The Effects of the Captivity and the Second Temple . " The treatment is very able , and our reverend
Companion has displayed much erudition in the course of his remarks . "We may add that we trust the next Report of Royal Arch Freemasonry in Pennsylvania will be as interesting and as satisfactory as the one we have just been commenting upon .
"It Is Easy To Promulgate An Error, But Very Hard To Eradicate It."
"IT IS EASY TO PROMULGATE AN ERROR , BUT VERY HARD TO ERADICATE IT . "
BY BRO . JACOB NORTON . WHENEVER an error originated , from an ignorant or learned man , when once it was accepted as an article of faith , additions were generally made to it , and learned men in the course of time did not disdain to aid and defend its perpetuation . No one , for instance knows who , or when , originated the notion of witchcraft ; and
that itself was a strong argument for perpetuating that notion . In 1736 , Parliament abolished the law of burning witches , and the repeal of that law horrified tho then pious ones , including John Wesley , just as much as Grand Lodges were horrified at the G . O . of France for havinir erased from its constitution a certain law .
The history of Masonry furnishes several facts to illustrate the truth of the heading of this paper ; thus , in tho fifteenth century the author of tho Halliwell MS . introduced ( as he alleges ) , from hearsay , the story of King Athelstan and his son Edwin having called an assembly of Masons , to whom Prince Edwin gave a charter . TheMSS . says neither where nor when the said asssmbly was held . Matthew Cooke ' s MS ., written in the sixteenth centurv , is also silent as to tho
where and when the said assembly was held . "Hnghan ' s Old Charges , " written in tho seventeenth century , gave a location to the Athelstan assembly , viz ., " York , " and in 1738 , Dr . Anderson added the year when that assembly was held , viz ., 926 . Everybody received the story with the additions as a fact , and Dermott began each Lodge Charter with the article of faith , that ho derived his authority from Prince Edwin of 026 . Dr . Oliver asserted that the Athelstan
charter was still preserved at lork . At last Bro . Findel exploded the Athelstan story . Since then , all the eS ' orts of the legend defenders , including Bro . Paton's pamphlet , have failed to resuscitate the old faith in the Athelstan legend . This story is , however , not entirely abandoned ; and it is cnrions to see to what expedients our legend
sticklers resort to , in order to prop up a legend . The old story being no longer tenable , onr Bro . Woodford brought forward Dr . Drake ' s discovery , that a Princo Edwin was baptized in 627 at York , who afterwards built a stone church . Now remember , that our earliest MSS . make no reference to York , but they do affirm that Prince Edwin was the son , or as some say , the brother of King Athelstan ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Royal Arch Masonry In Pennsylvania.
ROYAL ARCH MASONRY IN PENNSYLVANIA .
WE have received , and fraternally acknowledge the receipt of copy of the Proceedings of the Grand Holy Royal Arch Chapter of Pennsylvania during the year 1877 , and we rejoice that this section of Freemasonry is in so exceedingly prosperous a condition . The Quarterly Convocations were held in the Masonic Temple ,
Philadelphia , on the 1 st February , 3 rd May , 2 nd August , and 1 st November respectively , and the Annual Convocation on the 27 th December . At each of these meetings Comp . Alfred P . Potter , Grand High Priest presided , and was well supported by his Grand Officers , and the
representatives of very many of the subordinate Chapters . At the May Convocation a communication from the Grand Chapter of Quebec , requesting recognition by the Grand Chapter of Pennsylvania , was referred to the Committee on Correspondence . At the Convocation in August , a full
and exhaustive report as to the state of Royal Arch Masonry in the jurisdiction was presented , and from this we glean the following interesting particulars . There are , or rather were at the time the Report was submitted , exactly one hundred Royal Arch Chapters
in the jurisdiction , three of which were constituted in 1876 , and three Mark Lodges . The number of Companions in the former on the 27 th December 1876 was 10 , 457 , there having been 684 admissions , & c . in the course of that year , and 548 resigned , suspended , expelled , or died . The
members of the three Mark Lodges mustered together 2 , 044 , as against 2 , 114 at the corresponding date in 1875 , two only having been marked in 1876 , while seven resigned , nineteen died , and forty-six were suspended or expelled , or together seventy-two . At the November
Convocation the Committee on Finance presented their Report , and the Resolutions attached thereto were adopted . From this we learn that for the year ended 29 th October 1877 , the receipts , including a balance from previous year of 1 , 510 dollars 35 cents ,
amounted to a little over 7 , 992 dollars . The expenditure reached over 5 , 481 dollars , leaving a balance of not quite 2 , 511 dollars . But of this close on 1 , 300 dollars were needed to pay balances due on appropriations to 27 th December 1877 , so that the balance was reduced to
1 , 011 dollars , and if to this sum the 423 dollars due to Grand Chapter were added , then the surplus of receipts over expenditure and appropriations showed the satisfactory total of 1 , 434 dollars . The investments of Grand Chapter were stated to be all in the Six per
Cent . Redemption Loan of the Grand Lodge , and to have reached 17 , 000 dollars . The estimated receipts and expenditure for the current year were set down—the former at close on 8 , 731 dollars , and the latter as under 6 , 750 dollars , leaving a surplus of about 1 , 981 dollars . The
Committee on Correspondence then delivered their report on the request for recognition by the Grand Chapter of Quebec , which report , for reasons which must commend themselves to all , was to the effect that the said Grand Chapter should not be recognised . The other
business having been disposed of , the election of principal Grand Officers for the ensuing year was proceeded with , and resulted as follows : —M . E . Comps . Alfred R . Potter
Grand High Priest , William C . Hamilton , M . D ., Grand King , Hibbert P . John Grand Scribe , Thomas R . Patton Graud Treasurer , and John Thompson Grand Secretary . These companions were formally installed into their respec-
Royal Arch Masonry In Pennsylvania.
tive offices at the Annual Communication on the 27 th December , on which occasion the other Grand Officers were appointed and invested , thus bringing the proceedings of the year to a satisfactory conclusion . The Appendix contains a mass of vory interesting
information , from which , if we had time and space , we should have great pleasure in making several excerpts . As it is , we must content ourselves with only a few remarks . Thus from that portion of it which treats of Canada we learn that the position of Arch Masonry in the Dominion
is eminently satisfactory as to the number of its members , while the finances show a cash Balance in hand , and in 5 per cent . Dominion Stocks amounting to over 6 , 082 dollars . The number of Chapters at dato is set down as seventy , and the number of Royal Arch Companions
at 3 , 115 .- The Report on Maine contains an excellent resume of the history of Mark Masonry in England , and the remarkable progress it has made since the establishment in 1856 of our Mark Grand Lodge . Under the head of New Jersey is a long and
instructive address by Comp . the Rev . James Murray , Grand Chaplain , on the occasion of the annual Convocation of the Grand Chapter of that State , the subject being "The Effects of the Captivity and the Second Temple . " The treatment is very able , and our reverend
Companion has displayed much erudition in the course of his remarks . "We may add that we trust the next Report of Royal Arch Freemasonry in Pennsylvania will be as interesting and as satisfactory as the one we have just been commenting upon .
"It Is Easy To Promulgate An Error, But Very Hard To Eradicate It."
"IT IS EASY TO PROMULGATE AN ERROR , BUT VERY HARD TO ERADICATE IT . "
BY BRO . JACOB NORTON . WHENEVER an error originated , from an ignorant or learned man , when once it was accepted as an article of faith , additions were generally made to it , and learned men in the course of time did not disdain to aid and defend its perpetuation . No one , for instance knows who , or when , originated the notion of witchcraft ; and
that itself was a strong argument for perpetuating that notion . In 1736 , Parliament abolished the law of burning witches , and the repeal of that law horrified tho then pious ones , including John Wesley , just as much as Grand Lodges were horrified at the G . O . of France for havinir erased from its constitution a certain law .
The history of Masonry furnishes several facts to illustrate the truth of the heading of this paper ; thus , in tho fifteenth century the author of tho Halliwell MS . introduced ( as he alleges ) , from hearsay , the story of King Athelstan and his son Edwin having called an assembly of Masons , to whom Prince Edwin gave a charter . TheMSS . says neither where nor when the said asssmbly was held . Matthew Cooke ' s MS ., written in the sixteenth centurv , is also silent as to tho
where and when the said assembly was held . "Hnghan ' s Old Charges , " written in tho seventeenth century , gave a location to the Athelstan assembly , viz ., " York , " and in 1738 , Dr . Anderson added the year when that assembly was held , viz ., 926 . Everybody received the story with the additions as a fact , and Dermott began each Lodge Charter with the article of faith , that ho derived his authority from Prince Edwin of 026 . Dr . Oliver asserted that the Athelstan
charter was still preserved at lork . At last Bro . Findel exploded the Athelstan story . Since then , all the eS ' orts of the legend defenders , including Bro . Paton's pamphlet , have failed to resuscitate the old faith in the Athelstan legend . This story is , however , not entirely abandoned ; and it is cnrions to see to what expedients our legend
sticklers resort to , in order to prop up a legend . The old story being no longer tenable , onr Bro . Woodford brought forward Dr . Drake ' s discovery , that a Princo Edwin was baptized in 627 at York , who afterwards built a stone church . Now remember , that our earliest MSS . make no reference to York , but they do affirm that Prince Edwin was the son , or as some say , the brother of King Athelstan ,