Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Bro. Albert Pike's Remarks On Mackay's 25 Landmarks.
overy assembly of tho Craft , wheresoever and whensoever held . " There could havo been no snch right before there wore Grand Masters , nor is this prerogative known to havo been claimed or exercised anywhere by any Grand Master in the early days of Masonry .
" 6 . Tho prerogative of a Grand Master to grant dispensation for conferring degrees at irregular times . " This prerogative was not anciently possessed by tho
Graud Master , because no such dispensations were needed , inasmuch as each Lodge was entirely uncontrolled in regard to the times of conferring tho degrees , and conferred them when it pleased . " 7 . Tho prerogative of a Grand Mastor to grant
dispensations for opening and holding Lodges . " Tho old Lodges wero opened and held by tho spontaneous aud free action of tho members , without authority from
any one . Tho practice of granting Warrants and Charters grew up in modern days , and tho Graud Lodges may , if thoy see lit , take away from tho Grand Masters tho power of granting what are now incorrectly styled dispensations .
" 8 . Tho prerogatives of a Grand Mastor to make Masons at sight . " The Grand Master could make Masons with the aid of
a proper number of brethren , called together by him , but tho power of a Grand Master to take a person into a room and , by himself alone , to make him a Mason , will be looked
in vain for in tho Ancient Charges and Regulations , and this supposed prerogative was not a landmark , because it no longer belongs to Grand Masters .
" It is supposed to have always been a landmark that a man could only be made a Mason in a just and lawfully constituted Lodge . But this became a law of Masonry by
being enacted by the Grand Lodge ; and independent Lodges , at Newcastle and elsewhere , holding no charters , but self constituted , continued to make Masons at will .
" In Scotland , private Lodges had the right to issue commissions or dispensations to one or more individuals , to admit and enter such duly qualified persons as might apply to them , into the Society or Lodge , either as Apprentices or Fellow Crafts . This was done by tho Lodge of
Kilwinning , iu 1677 ; by the Lodgo of Haughfoot , in the early
part of tho eighteenth century ; in 1804 , by the Lodgo Royal Arch , at Maybole , which commissioned one of its members to confer degrees , and in other cases . " P , The necessitv for Masons to congregate in Lodges .
" 10 . The government of every Lodge by a Master and Wardens . " These were undoubtedly landmarks . [ Nofc so ,
Bro . Pike , for the old Lodges in Scotland were governed by Deacons , and sometimes by Wardens , ancl I doubt whether English Lodges always had to have two Wardens . ]
" 11 . The necessity that every Lodge when congregated shoukl be duly tyled . " Undoubtedly it was a landmark ( for a Lodge to be tyled . )
" 12 . The right of every Master to b 3 represented in all general meetings of the Craffc , and to instruct his representatives . " Every Apprentice and Fellow Craft in London and
Westminster had a right to be present and vote , but no right to be represented , in the general assembly . In the Grand Lodge , individual Masons were not represented . Tho Masters and Wardens represented the Lodge , and not
thc Masons who were unaffiliated , and the right of instruction never belonged to ' every ' Mason , or to auy individual Mason , neither was any such a right recognised when tho general assemblies were deprived of their power by usurpation on the pait of the Grand Lodge .
"Norwas it ever a landmark that a Lodge represented in Graud Lodge could instruct its representatives there in regard to questions and matters as they arose .
IS . The right of evety Mason to appeal from the decision of his brethren in Lodge convened , to the Grand Lodge , or to a general assembly of Masons .
" There was never any right of appeal from tho decision of a Lodge to the general assembly , and the right to appeal to tho Graud Lodge was not possessed by individual members , except so far as ifc was given by llio Grand Lodge , and ui regard to very many decisions , never has existed in England at all .
Bro. Albert Pike's Remarks On Mackay's 25 Landmarks.
" 14 . Tho right of every Mason to visit and sifc in every regular Lodge . " There is no such right now , and novor was any such a right . [ Query ] . No Mason from this country can visit
a Lodge in London without being vouched for [ is it so ?] , not only as a Mason , but as a person fit to bo received aa a visitor . Any member of a Lodge can object to a Mason seeking to visit his Lodge .
15 . That no visitor nofc known to somo brother present as a Mason can enter a Lodge without undergoing examination . " It is a law enacted by tho Graud Lodge of England
thafc no brother can visit without boing vouched for , bufc iu most countries of the world thero are no examinations , a visitor boing admitted upon production of his diploma or patent .
" If it is a landmark that no person not vouched for can visit without being examined , brethren from other countries in which the English language is nofc spoken , and in which tho work differs from ours , will always find their diplomas
and patents valueless , and if tho rule prevailed in other countries , no American Mason could visit any Lodge iu Sweden , Norway , Denmark , or in auy Latin country on the face of the globe .
" 16 . Thafc no Lodgo can interfere in the business or labour of another Lodge . This is entirely too vaguo aud general fco bo a landmark . It might be stretched wide enough to cover the doctrine of perpetual proprietorship over a rejected candidate ( thafc is ,
that no Lodgo could initiate a man who was rejected by another Lodgo until tho Lodgo that rejected him permits another to initiate him ) . " 17 . That every Freemason is amenable to the
criminal ( 1 ) laws and regulations of the Masonic jurisdiction in which ho resides . "( 1 ) . ( The word " criminal" was inserted by Parvin , who holds that a brother may bo tried for Masonic offences where committed ) .
" This is not true , except to a limited extent . Suppose tho Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia should require overy Mason residing hero to become affiliated hero . Nor is it by any means settled that Masons affiliated in ono State can be
tried by a Lodgo in another State . If ono of us visit Italy , do wo become amenable to the laws of tho Grand Orient of Italy in every respect , by residing there unaffiliated ? The langungo is too general and indefinite .
" 18 . That every candidate for initiation must be a man , free-born , and of lawful age . "It was not anciently necessary that to become au Apprentice one should bo a man of lawful ago . He was
described as a youth , and was in general nofc of ago . Noi is it now necessary in England that ho should be free-born . [ The landmark of " Sound limb " was as important , in
the estimation or Dr . Mackey , as auy other landmark . Strange ! very strange ! that Bro . Albert Piko omitted to refer in the above remarks to tbo landmark of sound limb ] .
" 19 . That overy Mason must bcliovo in tho existence ot God as the Grand Architect of the Universe . " The phrase , ' Grand Architect of tho Universe , ' is not an ancient one , ancl docs not express the adequate idea of
the Deity , and the truth is , that it was originally , and for a very long while , in England and Scotland , a landmark , that no one , not a Christian and a believer in the Trinity , could be made a Mason .
" 20 . That every Mason must believe in the rcsurectiou to a future life . " Every Mason must believe in another life for tho soul of man ; belief iu a life thafc is a continuance of this , but nofc in any sense a resurrection , being certainly sufiicicut .
< : 21 . Thafc a book of thc law of God must constitute au indispensable part of fche furniture of the Lodge . " Ifc does not appear that this was required iu olden day a of Masonry .
" 22 . That all men iu thc srghfc of God arc equal , aud moot in tho Lodge on one common level . " Ifc ia not a landmark of Masonry , that all mon aro equal in the sirrhfc of God . Thafc is a statement thafc God re < rards
men in a certain way . The Australian savage , as equal in every way , in the greatest and best of the race . VV bother this be true or not , it is no landmark of Masonry . But it in a landmark that on the HOOP of the Lryh ; c al ! Maaouj
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Bro. Albert Pike's Remarks On Mackay's 25 Landmarks.
overy assembly of tho Craft , wheresoever and whensoever held . " There could havo been no snch right before there wore Grand Masters , nor is this prerogative known to havo been claimed or exercised anywhere by any Grand Master in the early days of Masonry .
" 6 . Tho prerogative of a Grand Master to grant dispensation for conferring degrees at irregular times . " This prerogative was not anciently possessed by tho
Graud Master , because no such dispensations were needed , inasmuch as each Lodge was entirely uncontrolled in regard to the times of conferring tho degrees , and conferred them when it pleased . " 7 . Tho prerogative of a Grand Mastor to grant
dispensations for opening and holding Lodges . " Tho old Lodges wero opened and held by tho spontaneous aud free action of tho members , without authority from
any one . Tho practice of granting Warrants and Charters grew up in modern days , and tho Graud Lodges may , if thoy see lit , take away from tho Grand Masters tho power of granting what are now incorrectly styled dispensations .
" 8 . Tho prerogatives of a Grand Mastor to make Masons at sight . " The Grand Master could make Masons with the aid of
a proper number of brethren , called together by him , but tho power of a Grand Master to take a person into a room and , by himself alone , to make him a Mason , will be looked
in vain for in tho Ancient Charges and Regulations , and this supposed prerogative was not a landmark , because it no longer belongs to Grand Masters .
" It is supposed to have always been a landmark that a man could only be made a Mason in a just and lawfully constituted Lodge . But this became a law of Masonry by
being enacted by the Grand Lodge ; and independent Lodges , at Newcastle and elsewhere , holding no charters , but self constituted , continued to make Masons at will .
" In Scotland , private Lodges had the right to issue commissions or dispensations to one or more individuals , to admit and enter such duly qualified persons as might apply to them , into the Society or Lodge , either as Apprentices or Fellow Crafts . This was done by tho Lodge of
Kilwinning , iu 1677 ; by the Lodgo of Haughfoot , in the early
part of tho eighteenth century ; in 1804 , by the Lodgo Royal Arch , at Maybole , which commissioned one of its members to confer degrees , and in other cases . " P , The necessitv for Masons to congregate in Lodges .
" 10 . The government of every Lodge by a Master and Wardens . " These were undoubtedly landmarks . [ Nofc so ,
Bro . Pike , for the old Lodges in Scotland were governed by Deacons , and sometimes by Wardens , ancl I doubt whether English Lodges always had to have two Wardens . ]
" 11 . The necessity that every Lodge when congregated shoukl be duly tyled . " Undoubtedly it was a landmark ( for a Lodge to be tyled . )
" 12 . The right of every Master to b 3 represented in all general meetings of the Craffc , and to instruct his representatives . " Every Apprentice and Fellow Craft in London and
Westminster had a right to be present and vote , but no right to be represented , in the general assembly . In the Grand Lodge , individual Masons were not represented . Tho Masters and Wardens represented the Lodge , and not
thc Masons who were unaffiliated , and the right of instruction never belonged to ' every ' Mason , or to auy individual Mason , neither was any such a right recognised when tho general assemblies were deprived of their power by usurpation on the pait of the Grand Lodge .
"Norwas it ever a landmark that a Lodge represented in Graud Lodge could instruct its representatives there in regard to questions and matters as they arose .
IS . The right of evety Mason to appeal from the decision of his brethren in Lodge convened , to the Grand Lodge , or to a general assembly of Masons .
" There was never any right of appeal from tho decision of a Lodge to the general assembly , and the right to appeal to tho Graud Lodge was not possessed by individual members , except so far as ifc was given by llio Grand Lodge , and ui regard to very many decisions , never has existed in England at all .
Bro. Albert Pike's Remarks On Mackay's 25 Landmarks.
" 14 . Tho right of every Mason to visit and sifc in every regular Lodge . " There is no such right now , and novor was any such a right . [ Query ] . No Mason from this country can visit
a Lodge in London without being vouched for [ is it so ?] , not only as a Mason , but as a person fit to bo received aa a visitor . Any member of a Lodge can object to a Mason seeking to visit his Lodge .
15 . That no visitor nofc known to somo brother present as a Mason can enter a Lodge without undergoing examination . " It is a law enacted by tho Graud Lodge of England
thafc no brother can visit without boing vouched for , bufc iu most countries of the world thero are no examinations , a visitor boing admitted upon production of his diploma or patent .
" If it is a landmark that no person not vouched for can visit without being examined , brethren from other countries in which the English language is nofc spoken , and in which tho work differs from ours , will always find their diplomas
and patents valueless , and if tho rule prevailed in other countries , no American Mason could visit any Lodge iu Sweden , Norway , Denmark , or in auy Latin country on the face of the globe .
" 16 . Thafc no Lodgo can interfere in the business or labour of another Lodge . This is entirely too vaguo aud general fco bo a landmark . It might be stretched wide enough to cover the doctrine of perpetual proprietorship over a rejected candidate ( thafc is ,
that no Lodgo could initiate a man who was rejected by another Lodgo until tho Lodgo that rejected him permits another to initiate him ) . " 17 . That every Freemason is amenable to the
criminal ( 1 ) laws and regulations of the Masonic jurisdiction in which ho resides . "( 1 ) . ( The word " criminal" was inserted by Parvin , who holds that a brother may bo tried for Masonic offences where committed ) .
" This is not true , except to a limited extent . Suppose tho Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia should require overy Mason residing hero to become affiliated hero . Nor is it by any means settled that Masons affiliated in ono State can be
tried by a Lodgo in another State . If ono of us visit Italy , do wo become amenable to the laws of tho Grand Orient of Italy in every respect , by residing there unaffiliated ? The langungo is too general and indefinite .
" 18 . That every candidate for initiation must be a man , free-born , and of lawful age . "It was not anciently necessary that to become au Apprentice one should bo a man of lawful ago . He was
described as a youth , and was in general nofc of ago . Noi is it now necessary in England that ho should be free-born . [ The landmark of " Sound limb " was as important , in
the estimation or Dr . Mackey , as auy other landmark . Strange ! very strange ! that Bro . Albert Piko omitted to refer in the above remarks to tbo landmark of sound limb ] .
" 19 . That overy Mason must bcliovo in tho existence ot God as the Grand Architect of the Universe . " The phrase , ' Grand Architect of tho Universe , ' is not an ancient one , ancl docs not express the adequate idea of
the Deity , and the truth is , that it was originally , and for a very long while , in England and Scotland , a landmark , that no one , not a Christian and a believer in the Trinity , could be made a Mason .
" 20 . That every Mason must believe in the rcsurectiou to a future life . " Every Mason must believe in another life for tho soul of man ; belief iu a life thafc is a continuance of this , but nofc in any sense a resurrection , being certainly sufiicicut .
< : 21 . Thafc a book of thc law of God must constitute au indispensable part of fche furniture of the Lodge . " Ifc does not appear that this was required iu olden day a of Masonry .
" 22 . That all men iu thc srghfc of God arc equal , aud moot in tho Lodge on one common level . " Ifc ia not a landmark of Masonry , that all mon aro equal in the sirrhfc of God . Thafc is a statement thafc God re < rards
men in a certain way . The Australian savage , as equal in every way , in the greatest and best of the race . VV bother this be true or not , it is no landmark of Masonry . But it in a landmark that on the HOOP of the Lryh ; c al ! Maaouj